What are you cooking?

[fishorama]

I forgot about pasties (sort of like calzone outside, dryish beef stew inside) usually have rutabaga, at least the good 1s. Not homemade; gravy on the side. I think they come from Welsh? miners lunch, they probably didn't have the gravy, lol. Essjay, I have heard of swedes, maybe just in books.

jaylach, your candied peaches made me think of upside-down cake. We usually had pineapple but also tried apricot & maybe peach. It uses brown sugar & butter, so similar. I think I might like candied veggies if they came in a pie crust for dessert. I'm not into sweet dinner foods. The closest I get is pineapple with ham, probably our xmas dinner.

 

[jaylach]

No cooking for me today. I had a store bought chicken stir fry sub sandwich...chicken, peppers, mushroom, onions, cheese and fresh tomatoes...very healthy sub.

Made me think of a all greasy Italian sandwich with bell peppers and onions like they tend to serve at some fairs. Have to make me one soon.

I forgot about pasties (sort of like calzone outside, dryish beef stew inside) usually have rutabaga, at least the good 1s. Not homemade; gravy on the side. I think they come from Welsh? miners lunch, they probably didn't have the gravy, lol. Essjay, I have heard of swedes, maybe just in books.

jaylach, your candied peaches made me think of upside-down cake. We usually had pineapple but also tried apricot & maybe peach. It uses brown sugar & butter, so similar. I think I might like candied veggies if they came in a pie crust for dessert. I'm not into sweet dinner foods. The closest I get is pineapple with ham, probably our xmas dinner.

The candy is also very good with carrots using maple and butter. Ya cook on fairly high heat until the carrot edges blacken, good stuff! Have to keep an eye on it though as 30 seconds can make the difference between blackened edges and burnt.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

On Wednesday I cooked up a years supply of my famous (as least in the house) pasta meat sauce. I took me about 5 hours + to get it into the freezer. I make it very thick for storage but when I defrost it I add water to get the needed consistency. It is a meat sauce I use on pasta, to make chicken parm, to make pizza by doing a big dilution or to make lasagna where I both dilute it and add more meat. The meat is ground beef and sweet Italian sausage not in casings. I add more flavoring that is in the picture.

This is the view out of the window.

 

[gwand]

That looks mighty tasty.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It really is tasty.

The neat part is that I mix it to taste and not by using measured amounts of ingredients. The ultimate taste rquires the hours of heating and stirring and then the process of being allowed to sit warm until it cools to room temp. to release all of the flavors. So, I had to learn how to fine tune the amounts by tasting as I cooked it. But the final taste I will sample is still far from where it will all end up. I have been making this sauce for between 45 and 50 years and I have learned how it has to taste before it is actually ready. I have to do this at a point where nothing will be added except maybe a bit if salt.

Because most of the herbs and spices are dried when added, it takes the moisture from the water, the bullion and the olive oil, the bit of butter, the fats from the meats and even the moisture in tomato paste to soften and, eventually, "dissolve" the solids so they permeate everything.

From what you see in the last picture there are at least 100 servings in some form, likely more. Last night late I had a bowl of spaghetti with it as a late night snack.

 

[jaylach]

The neat part is that I mix it to taste and not by using measured amounts of ingredients. The ultimate taste rquires the hours of heating and stirring and then the process of being allowed to sit warm until it cools to room temp. to release all of the flavors. So, I had to learn how to fine tune the amounts by tasting as I cooked it. But the final taste I will sample is still far from where it will all end up. I have been making this sauce for between 45 and 50 years and I have learned how it has to taste before it is actually ready. I have to do this at a point where nothing will be added except maybe a bit if salt.

I don't measure when I do a large batch of sketti sauce either along with other large batch stuff. Unless I'm trying a new recipe my measuring spoons are the palm of my hand.

I also totally agree with cooling and cooking again as, especially with tomato based stuff, it always seems to taste better after the second cooking. Normally takes me two days to do a 2 gallon batch of sketti sauce but I cook pretty low and slow in a 2 gallon slow cooker. I'll let the first day's cooking cool and then put the stoneware pot in the fridge and start cooking again the next morning and let it go all day.

Both my 5-quart and 2-gallon are stoneware crock-pots. I don't really know why but I just prefer the stoneware over the non-stick ones.

 

[gwand]

I learned to cook by watching my grandmother cook. She had no recipes in writing and didn’t measure anything except by eye and taste. I do the same. If you don’t taste as you go along you will not be a great cook. So sayeth grandma.

 

[MattW]

Not cooking but I've had Greggs for the past 3 days and will continue to eat Greggs until the 24th. Muahaha! God bless the Geordies and their magnificent creation

 

[gwand]

Not cooking but I've had Greggs for the past 3 days and will continue to eat Greggs until the 24th. Muahaha! God bless the Geordies and their magnificent creation

What are Gregg’s?

 

[MattW]

What are Gregg’s?

Bakery chain from Tyneside (North East UK). They do a selection of pastries & food that they are famous for. Sausage rolls, steak bakes, breakfast rolls, etc. Usually a goto option for breakfast or lunch for most in the UK. Does the US have something similar at all?

 

[gwand]

Bakery chain from Tyneside (North East UK). They do a selection of pastries & food that they are famous for. Sausage rolls, steak bakes, breakfast rolls, etc. Usually a goto option for breakfast or lunch for most in the UK. Does the US have something similar at all?

Not really. Sounds good though.

 

[jaylach]

Not really. Sounds good though.

While it may not be 'Gregg's' it sounds like it could be something similar to Panera breads.

 

[gwand]

Beef and kidney pie, sausage rolls, blood sausage, blood pudding. Not common on this side of the pond….thankfully

 

[Essjay]

Beef and kidney pie,............ blood sausage, blood pudding

I wouldn't miss those if they were not common on this side either, can't bear the thought of eating them

Sausage rolls are nice, though, a sausage wrapped in puff pastry. I'm just not allowed to eat them because of the fat content.


I used to love Greggs chicken bakes until they decided to put mushroom in them and spoiled them for me. My two hates in chicken things - mushroom and smoked bacon. I can't eat anything smoked as it just makes the food taste like burnt rubber.

 

[lottabubbles]

I wouldn't miss those if they were not common on this side either, can't bear the thought of eating them

Sausage rolls are nice, though, a sausage wrapped in puff pastry. I'm just not allowed to eat them because of the fat content.


I used to love Greggs chicken bakes until they decided to put mushroom in them and spoiled them for me. My two hates in chicken things - mushroom and smoked bacon. I can't eat anything smoked as it just makes the food taste like burnt rubber.

that bad taste has a lot to do with your chemistry. I'm one of the 14% of the worlds population that thinks cilantro taste like soap.
however I do enjoy anything smoked.