Food convo thread #1

Joker, youve just inspired me to go make something like those croissants. The picture looks soo good.

 

holy shit joker... i'm comin over to your house for dinner everyday! haha
that shit looks delicious

 

I miss this thread, pulling it outta the vault

 

Oh! And what it is:

Grilled and breaded eggplant slices, cooked then covered in a little asiago tomato sauce
Red Skin and Garlic Mashed Tatos
Green beans lightly cooked in onion powder, garlic and pepper.

All organic and purchased at the farmers market too

 

Om nom nom, that looks so good!

 

Stir fry

 

Homemade steak fingers. No recipe, I didn't make it, but god...I'm so spoiled.

 

goddamn that looks fucking amazing, and learning what it is makes my mouth water even more, i love eggplant so much. since im very close to being a vegetarian myself nowadays, when i see such a good one i get excited

 

i dont have a picture or anything but this is one of my best nowadays:

first i chop fresh onions into medium sized chunks and caramelize them with smart balance (its a great low fat alternative, helps me in my current diet, and doesnt give me the acne that pure butter does)

the i cut green peppers into manageable slices (basically one of my veggie fillers) then slice it as thin as possible, so you can pretty much see through the pieces (i dont really like bell peppers but they are mad healthy so it gives me the right kind of nutrition)

i slice 2-3 mushrooms (depending on size) paper thin as well. though i prefer to go to the farmers market to find good wild mushrooms to experiment with their own unique flavours, lately i can only afford supermarket whites but they still have their own flavour.

then i take about 10-15 pepperoncini pepper slices too, banana peppers will work too. like the stuff in the jar, and put aside some of the water/juice for later. while i like spicy peppers since this is clearly an Italian themed dish i avoid jalapeños, cuz i am after flavour not overwhelming spice.

now slice some fresh garlic cloves, into manageable slices, how much depends on how much garlic flavour you like, i tend to keep it just enough for you to taste it without having so much that you can only taste garlic, so go easy for your sake and for the sake of who you want to be kissing later (remember if you have too much you will reek of garlic through your skin)

now i hate meat sausage (i think it tastes shitty and it makes me sick) but i LOVE vegetarian sausage, whatever brand you like, i love smart sausage myself, but Morningstar Farms works in a pinch, cut into desired pieces, ofc if you like real sausage go for it, just cook the sausage first to avoid getting dangerously sick (if you didnt know that you shouldnt be near an oven in the first place.

now while im doing all this chopping and slicing im making my own pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes and the spice regiment i use is fresh sage, oregano, and basil, i usually go a little heavy on the basil cuz i love the way it makes the house smell, and it makes my sauce a bit unique in a way, occasionally ill use a couple fresh whole clove leaves, but not too many and i make sure to take it out when the sauce is done. also if you can get shallots add em to the sauce. WARNING: making your own sauce is time consuming and very very messy, so prepare for that, and if you dont know how, be careful you need to use only low heat, and stir, but if you can get it its so worth it for how amazing it is. if you think its a pain go ahead and used jarred sauce

now i suggest getting whole wheat pasta, Barilla has good stuff. whatever style you like, i prefer linguine personally, but ive been known to use penne. now wait till the water is boiling and add the pasta, and add that pepperoncini or banana pepper juice/water you saved earlier (about 1/4-1/3 cup) to the boiling water and pasta.

and when the pasta is about half done:

oil a nice non-stick pan (olive oil naturally) and get it at about medium- medium high heat until the pan and oil are nice and hot, then add all of your veggies and cook till browned, use a colander to strain it of the oil (this is important. too much oil in the final dish fucks it all up, the veggies will separate from the sauce) till the veggies are mostly dry. lower your heat to low, and put the veggies back in add the onions and then add some of your sauce, by the time its all bubbling your pasta should be done so strain it in a colander (wash the one you just used, recycling is key while cooking) and then plate the pasta, add your sauce and veggie on top of the pasta and top it all off with some shredded aged Parmigiano-Reggiano or pure Reggianito in a thin layer on top, now enjoy an amazing pasta dish

now you can use non-fresh ingredients if you cant afford all fresh stuff (but if you can try to support your local organic farmers, they have the best ingredients) and every person who is serious about cooking should grow their own herbs, they are remarkable easy to grow if you have a pot. but dried herbs are viable alternatives if you dont want to, but if you do the pay-off is fantastic at almost all cost avoid canned veggies especially tomatoes because they have a very weird taste to them. add any extra veggies you like with your pasta.

now the way i make it is purely vegetarian, not vegan because of the cheese, but you can subtract that if you are serving a vegan. but if your friends are vegitarian this is a great way to include them in a great meal. besides vegetables are much more versatile to cook with than meat, meat is annoyingly limited.

this is my recipe (sort of) and its for at least three servings if you wanna be a pig about it, but i usually split it into 5 servings. and if you are alone just split it into Tupperware for lunch if you are ever feeling lazy. and if you make your own sauce, make a LOT of it and jar them, there is nothing like some fresh tomato sauce whenever you need it. mason jars are relatively inexpensive and worth it.

now if you wanna fusion this up you can use rice instead of pasta, it adds a nice little twist to it, and you can make a nice baked dish that way.

i hope at least one person makes this, its really good, and if you pre-make the sauce it doesnt take as long as it sounds

 

i missed this thread, its chock full of nom nommy goodness.

 

hell yea its a good thread for the cooks among eaters:] lots to learn here, for instance not to toot my own horn, but the recepe i just posted is really fantastic, its just a little bit of reading