Food Chit Chat

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

She says they're "a little sweet" but I get the distinct impression they'd be too sweet for my taste.  I also dislike cooked apples (I dislike most cooked fruit).

I don't make ribs because it's just me, but I'll go over to my parents' house when she does them on an open rotisserie after marinating them for a couple of days in a vinegar mixture I'm not sure of, other than it has lots of garlic.  And now I'm craving them, but the rotisserie motor needs a part replaced and my dad is having a hard time finding it (the machine is ancient).

Yes, I can see how they might trend to 'too sweet', but that can be mitigated somewhat. 

I don't fool with ribs on a grill etc., as I don't need the toughish bark to be happy. I simply dry rub, then wrap tightly with foil, and bake in a low, 300f oven for about 3 hrs, unwrap (after carefully draining grease), sauce if desired, and bake another 30 mins. Fall off the bone, but no tough, sticky bark. It's an Emeril recipe that I've been making for about 15 years.

Edited August 12, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[Gramto6]

3 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I am so down for trying this. I don't have a smoker, but don't know why you couldn't use the idea for however you cook ribs. I bake mine, and they are also wrapped in foil, so it just might work.

Appl Pie Baby Back Ribs

facebook.com/reel

 

 

I have on occasion used Liquid Smoke when I want that taste. Maybe you could mix some in with some of the apples to your taste and that would work. Just a thought. It doesn't take much of the Liquid Smoke to get the taste so start small...

Edited August 12, 2023 by Gramto6

[SuprSuprElevated]

11 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I have on occasion used Liquid Smoke when I want that taste. Maybe you could mix some in with some of the apples to your taste and that would work. Just a thought. It doesn't take much of the Liquid Smoke to get the taste so start small...

I have a bottle in the cupboard, but don't use it much. You're right, a little goes a loooong way with it, lol. I actually prefer adding a bit of smoked salt (when appropriate) to impart the smokiness.

[isalicat]

I have not made ribs in a few years as I now live alone and am reluctant to go through the process for "just me", but I always used to boil my (pork, of course, usually baby back) ribs in beer (use the cheapest one you can find) for an hour, drain thoroughly, season and then grill on each side, sauce and finish on the grill for a few minutes. They would be *so* tender and delicious. Only takes 15-20 minutes on the grill each side at most (very low heat!).

[JTMacc99]

I do have a smoker and ribs are my favorite thing to make on it. They come out SO good every time. Sometimes when the weather isn't so great, I'll do the last coupe of hours with the ribs in the foil in my oven in my kitchen.  

The only problem with that, is that my house smells like a roadside smokehouse for several hours, as there is no containing the awesome smoke once it has been put into the meat. 

It looks like this video shows them cooking the final two hours with the apples on the bottom, and not turning it over so the apples would be sitting on top of the ribs. So I'm thinking that all it's really doing is putting a little bit of apple flavored sugar on the ribs as a glaze. Basic barbeque sauce is pretty much sugar with some other flavors, so really not much different...

Until they scoop on the now pork fat infused sweet apples on the final product. I might try one rib with and one without and see which one I like better. 

[Mondrianyone]

We have a charcoal grill (which a friend says can be converted into a smoker, but he's always very vague about how exactly that happens), so no official smoker as of now. But you can buy one of these gizmos to put inside your grill, either gas or charcoal, and get the same effect with wood pellets. Much cheaper than buying a whole smoker, if you want to experiment.

[JTMacc99]

That would definitely do the trick for the smoke part, especially if you're working with a charcoal grill which also adds some flavor. 

The hard part with using a non-smoker is regulating the temperature to stay down in that 225-275 range for the length of time that it takes to smoke stuff.  It's easier on a gas grill. I strongly recommend getting a separate oven thermometer to monitor the temperature. It can even be just a simple $8 manual one that sits on the grate next to the ribs. 

FWIW, I have the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. I bought the little one (14") since it's still big enough to cook two whole chickens or two racks of ribs at the same time. Which is more than enough for me and my son. Heh.  

[Mondrianyone]

I bought the tube mainly for doing things like cheese, which is cold smoke, so the temperature isn't an issue. But we do have one of those little oven thermometers, which I will use when I move on to smoking meat. (Why do I always picture myself lighting up a sausage and puffing on it when I say that?) But thanks for the tip!

[chessiegal]

On a recent visit, my stepdaughter made us the most wonderful baby back ribs. The recipe was so simple. Generously put salt, pepper, chili powder, and oregano on both sides, place in a foil packet and add some beer. Bake in the oven at 280 degrees for about 5 hours. I really need to try this. Last time I went to The Fresh Market they had good looking ribs. 

[Gramto6]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

On a recent visit, my stepdaughter made us the most wonderful baby back ribs. The recipe was so simple. Generously put salt, pepper, chili powder, and oregano on both sides, place in a foil packet and add some beer. Bake in the oven at 280 degrees for about 5 hours. I really need to try this. Last time I went to The Fresh Market they had good looking ribs. 

That does sound good, but it is going to be in the 100's here most of the week. No way I'm having the oven on for 5 hours! But I will write it down and try in the Fall. Thanks for sharing!

[JTMacc99]

It looks like I'm going to get one more round of giant cucumbers and then the tomato harvest will be upon me. There are SO MANY huge tomatoes in my garden right now, and I noticed on Tuesday evening that the first three or four were starting to turn. 

That last trip to the garden, I was like a guy in a zombie movie looking out into the wilderness and thinking "they're coming..."

I'm going to be like Bubba in Forrest Gump talking about all things tomatoes instead of shrimp for the next month. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I'm going to be like Bubba in Forrest Gump talking about all things tomatoes instead of shrimp for the next month. 

I'm already drowning in them, so I hear you.  My problem is, while I love raw tomatoes, I only like them cooked in certain applications, so I don't have the entire gamut of tomato recipes to choose from.  I do, however, have neighbors eager to receive the excess.  (I didn't even grow my own this year, but my parents' garden produces plenty.  Their plum tree also went nuts, so I've been spreading those around the block, too.)

[chessiegal]

We picked up our CSA offering today. We got 5 large tomatoes, a box of cherry tomatoes (Yay!), and 2 bell peppers. They had beautiful eggplants and cucumbers, but I haven't used the ones I picked up last week.

After 3 1/2 years I have suspended my Blue Apron subscription. I originally started at the beginning of the pandemic when it was hard to find protein. I skipped last week's delivery because we've been eating so many BLTs and hamburgers with tomato that I wasn't using the meal kits.  I'll see how it goes in a month.

[annzeepark914]

On 8/17/2023 at 2:33 PM, JTMacc99 said:

That last trip to the garden, I was like a guy in a zombie movie looking out into the wilderness and thinking "they're coming..."

This reminded me of watching pumpkins and cabbages growing quickly into humongous sizes one summer while working on a political campaign in AK. The HQ was in a little house behind the Penneys mall in downtown Anchorage. Outside my desk window was a garden & each week those veggies seemed to double in size. By Sept., they each were the size of a hassock 😲.

[SoMuchTV]

59 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

By Sept., they each were the size of a hassock

There's a word I haven't heard in a while.  I don't know if it's dying out, or if it's regional, or what.  It's no more weird than "ottoman" but I don't think I've heard it used since I was a kid.

Very evocative though.  And I'm jealous of everyone who can grow all this abundance of produce.

[JTMacc99]

Did someone say they wanted a picture of one of the first of many big old tomatoes from my garden?  
 

[annzeepark914]

On 8/19/2023 at 12:50 PM, SoMuchTV said:

There's a word I haven't heard in a while.  I don't know if it's dying out, or if it's regional, or what.  It's no more weird than "ottoman" but I don't think I've heard it used since I was a kid.

Very evocative though.  And I'm jealous of everyone who can grow all this abundance of produce.

I had to look it up to make sure hassock was ok to use (as well as ottoman). These two words bring back memories of ashtrays on stands. You touched button & the ashtray emptied into something inside the stand.

8 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Did someone say they wanted a picture of one of the first of many big old tomatoes from my garden?  
 

Are these tomatoes sweet? They're beautiful.

[JTMacc99]

10 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Are these tomatoes sweet? They're beautiful.

They are awesome. It's an heirloom variety named Russian #117 by Dr. Carolyn Male who received the seeds from a person living in Hawaii. It was one of the tomatoes she wrote about in her book. They are a double heart variety that are very dense, sweet tomatoes that can grow up to two pounds, but mostly they hang around in the 10-20 ounce range. 

They are one of my favorite varieties, and it is a rare year I don't grow some of them.  I'll take a picture of the cool bicolor variety I also grow frequently when I make another sandwich today or tomorrow.

[Gramto6]

The tomatoes look great! I love your knife!!

[Mondrianyone]

I love the knife, too! Is the etching/engraving just decorative, or does it serve some purpose? I'm thinking like the indents on santoku knives that are meant to keep the knife from sticking to the food.

That tomato needs its own zip code!

[JTMacc99]

15 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

That tomato needs its own zip code!

I actually picked tomato yesterday that's at least 50% bigger. I have no idea what to do with a 2 pound tomato after taking a picture of it. I'll probably bring it to my dad and brother and let them figure it out.

16 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I love your knife!!

My knives are like Kardashians. They never miss an opportunity to be photographed. That one is a 10 inch chef knife from Zwilling. It's one of their licensed products with a dude named Bob Kramer. He makes stunning knives and charges stunning amounts of money for them. (If you click on that link, you'll see that he is a wizard with folding and forging steel.)

I got my Zwilling version in the discount bin at the Henkel's outlet store for less than half retail price. Not sure why it was in that bin, and I didn't ask.

 

Quote

I love the knife, too! Is the etching/engraving just decorative, or does it serve some purpose? I'm thinking like the indents on santoku knives that are meant to keep the knife from sticking to the food.

It is both decorative and serves a purpose. The middle of the knife, so the sharpened edge, is made from high quality stainless steel. It's wicked sharp and strong. The etching is 100 layers of stainless steel and nickel Damascus that adds strength, durability, and looks super cool. 

I learned all about that Damascus stuff watching Forged in Fire on the history channel, and I jumped at the opportunity to buy a knife made that way when I saw it at the outlet. 

[Mondrianyone]

You sent me to Google, and I saw some other absolutely gorgeous Damascus steel knives. The Japanese seem to be doing pretty amazing work. If I had any knife skills at all (see my long-ago boohoo post about being the first of three left-handed children born to clueless right-handed parents, the result of which is that I'm totally inept with cutlery), I would snap one of these up so fast. But they should go to people who are worthy of them. Really beautiful, though.

[isalicat]

4 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I actually picked tomato yesterday that's at least 50% bigger. I have no idea what to do with a 2 pound tomato after taking a picture of it. I'll probably bring it to my dad and brother and let them figure it out.

Stuff it! (Well, that is what I would do....) with some ground lamb (that had been browned), spices, etc. so it would be like a souvlaki (spelling?) inside a tomato...

or you could go in Mexican style fashion and stuff it with shredded beef, some chopped onion and peppers and crushed corn tortilla chips....then top with some Mexican white cheese and bake until the cheese was melted...

Oh - I could do lots of things with that tomato! 😺

[chessiegal]

I like to stuff the heirloom tomatoes I get from my CSA with tuna salad. I see a favorite local cafe has local tomatoes stuffed with a choice of tuna or chicken salad with a balsamic vinaigrette over greens as a special this week. 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I see a favorite local cafe has local tomatoes stuffed with a choice of tuna or chicken salad with a balsamic vinaigrette over greens as a special this week. 

Yeah, I like that for lunch during tomato season.

I also like to stuff them with Greek salad ingredients - cucumber, red onion, kalamata olive, feta cheese, mint, and lemon vinaigrette.

I don't generally care for cooked tomatoes, but a friend made a retro recipe that gave us pleasant '70s flashbacks -- thaw, drain, and heat a package of frozen spinach, mix it with parmesan, onion, and a little mayo, and stuff it into tomatoes.  Sprinkle the top with additional parm, top with a dot of butter, and bake until bubbly hot.

[Mondrianyone]

I thought my post about grinding salt would be moved, but it seems to have been removed. I'll try again: Can you use a pepper mill to grind salt, without damaging the mechanism?

[chessiegal]

18 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

I thought my post about grinding salt would be moved, but it seems to have been removed. I'll try again: Can you use a pepper mill to grind salt, without damaging the mechanism?

I answered to try it. 

[Mondrianyone]

I think I will. I can always buy another one if I destroy it. Thanks!

[Gramto6]

6 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I thought my post about grinding salt would be moved, but it seems to have been removed. I'll try again: Can you use a pepper mill to grind salt, without damaging the mechanism?

I buy Pink Himalayan Salt crystals in a glass grinder at the Grocery store. It grinds just fine. I have found it both in the regular spice section and another brand in the natural foods section. I like these grinders because you can unscrew the top and add more salt to it,  or even a different type of salt crystals. I use one to grind my red Hawaiian salt crystals. 

[RealityCheck]

10 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I thought my post about grinding salt would be moved, but it seems to have been removed. I'll try again: Can you use a pepper mill to grind salt, without damaging the mechanism?

A Google search returned the following at the top of the page:

Quote

Salt can corrode the carbon steel on a pepper grinder's teeth, reducing its efficiency. Rust and corrosion can often result in clumps of salt that stick to metal and make a mess. So with traditional designs, it's generally advised to stick with grinding salt in a salt mill and pepper in a pepper mill.

I hope this is helpful.  Good luck.

[annzeepark914]

Here's a tip for anyone who's bought those great European sodas at Wegmans: open slowly and over the sink. I've bought these sodas for several years (since back when they were called "Italian sodas"). But recently, they've become a bit explosive upon unscrewing the top. My 2 favorites are the cranberry, and the blood orange. I like to rub a lime on a glass rim & dip it lightly into fine sea salt first (never had a Margarita but always was fascinated by the salt on the glass rim). It is delicious with either of these sodas.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

(never had a Margarita

You need to rectify that and raise your glass in memory of Jimmy Buffet'. 😉

[Mittengirl]

I am probably the last person to know this, but just in case I’m not, you can snap a frozen pizza in half (and then in quarters) if you don’t want to cook the whole thing.  Just place it over the edge of your counter and snap.  You can leave it in the wrapper if it doesn’t have a cardboard disc underneath.  Otherwise put it in a large plastic bag to prevent loose cheese from ending up on the floor.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Word

[chessiegal]

Tomato season must be winding down. Only 2 tomatoes in our CSA pick-up. Nice small carton of cherry tomatoes including some heirloom. I picked up a zucchini. There were squashes I didn't recognize and would have had no idea what to do with them.

My husband asked the woman who runs this how many people come for pick-up. She says the Dodon Winery we go to is about 25 to 40. Their Annapolis pick-up sees about 50. The most they get is on Saturdays at the farm with over 65.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

There were squashes I didn't recognize and would have had no idea what to do with them.

I love to make this every summer when I have farm-fresh corn and numerous squash varieties:

Sauté corn, onion, and garlic with toasted cumin seeds until lightly browned.  Add squash and jalapeño and sauté until the squash is tender.  Stir in some chopped cilantro at the end.  Transfer it to a serving dish, top with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and cover it to let the cheese melt.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

Bulletin of the PImiento Cheese Institute:

 

I made a trial batch yesterday, following the recipe ratios but reducing amounts.  I kept the mayo to an absolute minimum, but still I just didn't like the final product .  A waste of some very good cheddar.  It's possible my batch was too coarse, but I don't know that it would have made a difference overall.   It did improve with sitting in the fridge to let flavors meld overnght. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[SuprSuprElevated]

Follow me for more delicious recipes!

[chessiegal]

My husband went to the grocery store today. When he got home, he said all the old fogie men like him were using paper lists. All the women were using lists on their phones. 😄

[isalicat]

16 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

My husband went to the grocery store today. When he got home, he said all the old fogie men like him were using paper lists. All the women were using lists on their phones. 😄

I (a woman!) use a paper list because (a) I don't use my phone for anything but calling/receiving calls and texts and (b) scared of dropping my phone on a hard grocery store floor while juggling a big container or whatever; if I drop my little paper list its no problem! 😸

[annzeepark914]

I use a paper list & cross out items as I make my way around the store. But I do use my phone's calendar (just have the notification noise turned off 😸).

[chessiegal]

My husband's observation was 1 data point from his visit today. I've seen women with paper lists, including myself.

[JTMacc99]

I almost never use a list. I just wing it and forget stuff I was supposed to get all the time.

The only time I go to the store with a list is when my daughter gives me specific things she needs. And that "list" is a series of texts with pictures of the items I am to purchase.

[SuprSuprElevated]

😄

[annzeepark914]

Oh, gross!!! Never thought of it that way but, yeah. Whenever I start slicing celery, I remember my mom pulling the "hairs" out of  each stalk before she smeared cream cheese in the stalks for our pre-supper snack. I try to do that but get too impatient after a few strands.

[chessiegal]

If you buy hearts of celery rather than a whole bunch, the inner stalks don't need to have "strings" removed.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Wasn't particularly a fan of his, but wow, this is sad.

food-network-star-chef-michael-chiarello-dead-61-after-suffering-allergic-reaction/

[Anela]

I mentioned my air fryer being a bit dodgy, in the other chit chat thread.  I also mentioned that it doesn’t look big enough to cook a chicken.  It would be a squeeze.  We visited a Costco yesterday, just looked around, and saw sales of two chickens for $15.  They looked small enough to fit into my instant pot air fryer.  

[chessiegal]

My stepdaughter sent me a variety pack of 4 large cookies, about 4" diameter, from crumbl cookies today. Way too much sweets for the 2 of us. Any thoughts on how well they might freeze?

[Quof]

Cookies are fine frozen.  In fact, I prefer to eat them when they're still frozen.  Throw them in ziploc backs, or wrap in plastic wrap/foil. Don't be too fussy with how you freeze them, it really doesn't matter in the short term.