Let's Cooking: TNL!

[Advocate]

Wow, I just tried some Old Bay on shrimp because I'm allergic to horseradish so I can't do cocktail sauce and I don't like plain shrimp enough to enjoy it alone, and it is damn good! Apparently this can go on a whole bunch of shit to spice it up, I'm going to have to experiment. First impression =

Try that on French Fries that just came out of the fryer and drying on a paper towel. You'll thank me later.

Advocate that meal sounds delicious but it needs color.

When it comes to food the plate may look bland, but the flavour is awesome. Also, when I cook for people and not just myself ... I do add colour.

When am I gonna start seeing you guys down here??

Soon nigga.

[Jed]

I want to make some gumbo. Some serious southern creole stuff.

Any good recipes?

Actually what I'm most interested in is what the hell to do with a whole chicken if I buy one. How to cut it up and what parts to use for the gumbo and whatnot.

Use the whole damn thing, cajuns/creoles aren't the most discerning cooks and let nothing go to waste. And completely ignore the weak ass recipe that Rich posted in the picture thread, gumbo does NOT have garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms and all that bullshit. Basically all you need:

Roux
1 large onion
1 large bell pepper
1 bunch of green onion
cayenne
chicken
sausage - And this is the key, you have to use gooooood sausage, not that fatty keilbasa shit, but really dry sausage is best and preferably double smoked if you can find it. It's nearly impossible to find good sausage outside of the south, since I left Louisiana I haven't found anything that even remotely compares. Cook that shit all day long.

I'll get JM to hook it up with his mom's gumbo recipe, it's the real cajun shit.

[icarusfall]

Got the call-back for Ruth's Chris.

2nd interview tomorrow at 4.30

[animegirl]

Cooking roux is so damn boring. You have to watch it the whole time or it will burn. I could only stand about 20 mins so I made gumbo with penny-colored roux. I had shrimp and boudain sausage in mine and it was pretty tasty.

[Tones]

Congrats Icarus! I plan on trying your blackberry dessert recipe (the second one you posted) tomorrow. I bought some loose leaf jasmine green tea to accompany it a few minutes ago.

Here's what I was thinking for the menu:

I have a ton of turkey stock that I made a few days back and arborio rice, so a risotto will likely be served. I haven't had fish for a while, so I think some grilled salmon would definitely do well with it, seasoned simply with salt and cracked pepper with a squeeze of lemon on top. I bought some baby spinach greens and basil at the farmer's market, so I think that, served with this dressing will pull everything together. I'll also make a loaf of fresh bread.

This doesn't sound too heavy, does it? I was thinking of getting a bottle of drier riesling to accompany it. It sounds like there will be four people, including myself.

Edit: Just remembered that I got three meyer lemons, a few grapefruit, blood oranges, and plain navels from the farmer's market as well. How could I use these (other than the lemons for a marinade/garnish, which I'll probably do)?

[Hot Like Wasabi]

Has any one played around with Personal Trainer: Cooking on the DS? I got it for Christmas and finally tried cooking something from it tonight. It's a neat cook book with videos, a little less then 250 recipes from around the world and it keeps track of what you cook, how many times and what day.

I tried my hand at Sauteed Salmon w/ Green Sauce. It turned out pretty nice, you might find this strange but I don't eat seafood at all so I had to rely on my wife and my mom to tell me how it was.

[icarusfall]

This doesn't sound too heavy, does it? I was thinking of getting a bottle of drier riesling to accompany it. It sounds like there will be four people, including myself.

Edit: Just remembered that I got three meyer lemons, a few grapefruit, blood oranges, and plain navels from the farmer's market as well. How could I use these (other than the lemons for a marinade/garnish, which I'll probably do)?

No, that doesn't seem too heavy. If you were gonna serve the salmon with some kind of cream sauce I'd say maybe stay away from risotto, but it sounds like a nice menu.

Personally, I'd use that citrus in a salad with the spinach, sesame seeds, salt and pepper - maybe a little olive oil, but I don't think that's what you're looking for. If you want to go big, you could use the Riesling and make a wine cocktail with some of the citrus juice/pieces, a touch of sugar, and seltzer water...

Has any one played around with Personal Trainer: Cooking on the DS?

I tried my hand at Sauteed Salmon w/ Green Sauce. It turned out pretty nice, you might find this strange but I don't eat seafood at all so I had to rely on my wife and my mom to tell me how it was.

I haven't 'played' it, but I'm interested in seeing how it works.

That doesn't sound strange to me at all. That salad recipe I posted there for Tones? I wouldn't eat it. Hate the stuff. But after making bunches of different salads for people, I rely on my mind's palette to tell me what tastes good.

[Tones]

No, that doesn't seem too heavy. If you were gonna serve the salmon with some kind of cream sauce I'd say maybe stay away from risotto, but it sounds like a nice menu.

Personally, I'd use that citrus in a salad with the spinach, sesame seeds, salt and pepper - maybe a little olive oil, but I don't think that's what you're looking for. If you want to go big, you could use the Riesling and make a wine cocktail with some of the citrus juice/pieces, a touch of sugar, and seltzer water...



I haven't 'played' it, but I'm interested in seeing how it works.

That doesn't sound strange to me at all. That salad recipe I posted there for Tones? I wouldn't eat it. Hate the stuff. But after making bunches of different salads for people, I rely on my mind's palette to tell me what tastes good.

That cocktail sounds amazing. Sort of a white sangria? I'll give it some consideration, but it sounds nice for a weeknight when getting tipsy is a little less fun.

[Advocate]

I made an awesome Spinach Artichoke dip for work the other day. People complimented me on it saying its the best they ever had at the place. Apparently, following the recipe works.

Also, I like cooking and the people there hate it ... go figure.

[icarusfall]

They did everything but offer me the job at the interview today. The Chefs said I have to meet with the general manager tomorrow since that's 'policy' but it's more of a formality than anything else. We were laughing, having a decent time talking about food, and they said I interview extremely well; that it didn't matter my chef and GM hadn't written my recommendations yet. They're sure it would be nothing but praise.

*excitement*

Also: Tones, do you have a microplane? If not, buy one. Or use some kind of inferior rasp to get at some of that zest for the cocktail. Zest doesn't really taste like lemon/orange/whatever, but it contains the essential oils of the fruit. It adds more to the nose of the beverage than anything else, but it tastes great too. Just be sure to not rasp int the pith (the white part between the rind and the flesh) since that tastes bitter in a bad way.