Prog Chefs Unite!!!

Raff wrote: I am definitely stealing that cashew recipe!

I'm stealing the word 'moreish' .

Doing a slow-simmer chili with hunks of pork shoulder drenched in powdered chipotle, garlic, chopped onion, s&p; fried in olive oil till just browned but still raw in middle before adding strained tomatoes, some water, Worcesteshire, a little beer, brown sugar, dry oregano, cumin, tobasco, more chipotle if needed.   Turn heat to low and cover till meat is cooked and flavors have come together, add more salt if required.   Served with a sourcream dollop and WheatThins on the side.

A can of drained and rinsed red kidney beans is optional.




Edited by Atavachron - February 27 2015 at 22:15

Funny thing about using shoulder is that by the time its been well simmered, the meat itself has imparted most of its flavor to the sauce and is left a largely bland, grey mass

Yes I don't let the meat sit in the rub long, I just let it cook in and bloom a bit in the pot--  but seasoning the meat well is absolutely key to good flavor, something that took me a long time to understand.  The whole "No-Salt!"  trend really threw things too, people started waaayy under-salting and it's taken awhile to get back to basics.

Homestyle potatoes & onions, with a couple NY strips pan-fried with olive oil, lemon, Worc, and garlic

^ I do a similar onion & bacon pie with sourcream, egg, and a nice crust -  I think it's German by origin

rubbed a NY strip with olive oil & garlic and fried in a hot skillet, steamed broccoli smothered in parmesan, butter & black pepper on the side

Looks like something to try some time, Dean. 

LOL Sometimes the bill can take the breath out of you.

When my sister turned 17 she asked to go to a fancy Chinese restaurant she was curious about that was near the movie theater where she worked. My parents had some old friends with their kids in town visiting that night and so a total of 9 of us went to eat a multi-course meal at Beijing.
There was no real menu, just a choice of which of 2 meals the table would have, orange sherbet served between courses for palate cleansing. It was a nice time, food was great, and when Dad received the bill his face never changed expression. He quietly called over the head waiter and asked him to clarify something, none of us able to hear. He nodded, handed over his credit card and signed. After we left he joked, but not really, about putting off going car shopping for her, since dinner was over $500 after gratuity.



In our efforts to eat a little better, we recently tried shirataki noodles. They're made from yams, are about 97% water and have 0 calories. High in fiber. Made a teriyaki pork and vegetable stir fry with them the other night, and they were really good.
They come in a bag of water, and smell like a fish market when you open them. After rinsing, the smell somewhat goes away, but they don't taste at all fishy, and are just a great noodle base for a dish.
We tried the tofu kind the first time, angel hair, and they were awful. Very off-putting texture and have a rubbery snap to them. But the real thing was surprisingly good.

^ Sounds great except for the ketchup, and no butter on the griddle?

Speaking of beans and wieners, last night was chili dog night.

Used some leftover chili I'd made with ground beef, shredded pork I smoked myself, white beans and the most delicious chili blend you can find: Stubb's Chili Sauce.

Charred up some dogs on the grill to a crispy shade of coal, doused them with chili and onion, paired them with Trader Joe's South African spiced potato chips and tried to forget for a few minutes that I'm on a diet.