What are you cooking?

[jaylach]

If you’re only eating several ounces of pasta twice per week I would stick to regular pasta. The health concerns are minimal if your weekly portion size is reasonable. And I never ate a whole wheat pasta I cared for. Give me old fashioned Italian semolina.

I mostly agree and only use Whole Wheat when the type I want is out of stock in the regular form. It's OK but there are a couple of things I don't care for.
1) Texture is different to some extent. Sort of hard to describe how the texture seems different to me, it just is.
2) A lot of times I like to flavor my pasta. I'll add garlic, basil, thyme and a few other spices to the water and simmer just the water and spices for half an hour or so. When the pasta is cooked it will pick up flavor from the water. Whole Wheat just does not seem as able to absorb flavors.

Speaking of flavoring pasta the was a produce market right across the street from where I worked in Florida. Along with produce they also sold home made pasta with all kinds of flavors. The only two times you can flavor pasta is when it's made and when it's cooked. They even had pasta done with raspberry. Since I'm a raspberry fanatic I had to try some of their raspberry Penna pasta and used in a fruit salad. It was REALLY good.

 

[jaylach]

I'm thinking about trying something new from my local grocery. @WhistlingBadger MAY have thoughts on this. My favorite beef steak cut is rib eye. Well the local grocery is now selling rib eye cuts of bison. To be honest I don't recall ever having bison. At a price of ~$20.00 USD for a boneless 10 ounce bison rib eye is it worth trying? Cost seems high but I don't know the difference in taste and texture so it may be worth it. I still hesitate as I can get a three pack of 16 ounce beef bone in rib eyes for about $22.50 USD.

Any thoughts?

 

[gwand]

I'm thinking about trying something new from my local grocery. @WhistlingBadger MAY have thoughts on this. My favorite beef steak cut is rib eye. Well the local grocery is now selling rib eye cuts of bison. To be honest I don't recall ever having bison. At a price of ~$20.00 USD for a boneless 10 ounce bison rib eye is it worth trying? Cost seems high but I don't know the difference in taste and texture so it may be worth it. I still hesitate as I can get a three pack of 16 ounce beef bone in rib eyes for about $22.50 USD.

Any thoughts?

Bison ribeye is a bit leaner. I think bison has a slightly stronger flavor in a good way. Texture is a little tougher but not so much in that fatty cut. It is worth trying once.

 

[jaylach]

Bison ribeye is a bit leaner. I think bison has a slightly stronger flavor in a good way. Texture is a little tougher but not so much in that fatty cut. It is worth trying once.

OK, ya talked me into it. There isn't a lot of 'normal stuff' I need on my grocery list so why not as the bill will be lower than normal anyway.

LOL! I also added the three pack of 16 ounce beef bone in rib eyes for about $22.50 USD. Just have to make sure to get before ne3xt Tuesday as it is an extreme sale price. Normal package price is just a bit under $50.00 USD. Actually I ordered three packages as it will probably not be soon that I'll see 1 pound bone in rib eyes for $7.47/pound. I'll pack each steak in a vacuum freezer bag and throw in my chest freezer.

 

[gwand]

OK, ya talked me into it. There isn't a lot of 'normal stuff' I need on my grocery list so why not as the bill will be lower than normal anyway.

LOL! I also added the three pack of 16 ounce beef bone in rib eyes for about $22.50 USD. Just have to make sure to get before ne3xt Tuesday as it is an extreme sale price. Normal package price is just a bit under $50.00 USD. Actually I ordered three packages as it will probably not be soon that I'll see 1 pound bone in rib eyes for $7.47/pound. I'll pack each steak in a vacuum freezer bag and throw in my chest freezer.

Sometimes bison is raised solely on grass. Steaks from these bison are lean and need to be cooked rare or medium rare. Over cooking dries it out. Other bison are initially grass fed but finished in a feed lit on grain just like cattle. These steaks are very similar to rib eye from cattle and can be cooked the same way.

 

[jaylach]

Sometimes bison is raised solely on grass. Steaks from these bison are lean and need to be cooked rare or medium rare. Over cooking dries it out. Other bison are initially grass fed but finished in a feed lit on grain just like cattle. These steaks are very similar to rib eye from cattle and can be cooked the same way.

For me medium rare is the only way to do a steak, medium at the most.

Actually I was a bit surprised to find that adding hormones and the like is illegal in the U.S when it comes to bison.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Worth trying! I've only had bison a couple times; I don't think I've ever had bison steak. I'm sure it's delicious. Agreed that you should keep it on the rare side to prevent drying out. Should be very flavorful and tender. Let us know how it goes! I've been thinking about putting in for the bison hunt over on the elk refuge. It's only about a 10% chance of drawing if you put in for a cow, but man, we'd eat like kings for years!

 

[fishorama]

I've only tried bison burgers once, so toughness wasn't an issue. It was ok. Much, much better than bear burgers we were forced to try 1 company picnic. Maybe if it had been grilled beyond very rare? Or not...I've tried roasted elk & moose once each & they were quite tasty.

gwand & jaylach, my husband is supposed to eat much less "white carbs" (flour, rice, potatoes) for his health. He's not good at that so I try to do my part to help...usually. Tonight we're having au gratin potatoes & ham. He'll be sorry & I'll get the leftovers.

I find WW pasta needs a couple more minutes cooking time. It does have 3x fiber. We eat ww hamburger buns & prefer them now. The only problem is that they tend to be larger, so I have 4-5 bites for brunch.

 

[jaylach]

Tonight is going to be BBQ sirloin tips and fries. Spent the day off and on deciding if the thawed 1 pound package of sirloin tips was going to be BBQ or for a small stew batch. It is now 6:00 PM so BBQ wins out as there is not really the time for doing a stew but then there is always the other package of sirloin tips so stew is likely to happen in the next few days.

Stew would include baby mixed color taters, rainbow carrots, onion, diced tomatoes and green beans. Also will be a variety of spices with a heavy dose of whole rosemary. I like such a stew with egg noodles but don't add to the stew directly. Put a bunch of egg noodles in the bottom of the bowl and smother with stew. A pound of sirloin tips will make enough stew for two meals. I don't add the egg noodles as, on heating the second meal half, the noodles just turn to mush. I also like a stew without taters and served over smashed taters. Basically both are the same except one has taters in the stew and noodles as a base and the other has taters as the base with no noodles.

Both ways are good but has to have enough juice for bread dipping.

 

[jaylach]

I find WW pasta needs a couple more minutes cooking time. It does have 3x fiber. We eat ww hamburger buns & prefer them now. The only problem is that they tend to be larger, so I have 4-5 bites for brunch.

I understand the added cooking time as it is natural that Whole heat would need that but, even with extra cooking, I find the texture of Whole Wheat Pasta to be different. I actually have no issue using but regular pasta will be the first choice.

As to buns/rolls I have no issue with Whole Wheat and sometimes get by choice. Again the texture is a bit different but that can, sometimes, be a good thing.

I also like potato buns/rolls. They tend to have a 'softer' texture which I happen to like.

 

[fishorama]

jaylach, your stew sounds very colorful I'm not sure about rosemary. I love the smell, not really a food smell to me, more like pine needles lol. I have had it as part of seasoning in dishes I didn't make. It might be like cilantro or sage for me; some is good, a lot maybe not. What else do you use it for? Pork, chicken or in a marinade? Those might be "safer" for me trying it out.

I'm not a fan of squishy white bread, buns or especially Hawaiian rolls, too sweet. I do like various white rolls like crusty Italian 1s or bolillos if they're fresh store made.

I wanted Thai take out tonight, but my husband came home with frozen beef empanadas to try. We recently tried Trader Joe's & they were pretty good. These are a different brand, so fingers crossed. Another no cooking night

 

[jaylach]

I do my stews pretty much the same with some modifications. Say that it was to be chicken or turkey I'd go heavy on sage and a lot lighter on rosemary.

 

[gwand]

I limit my red meat consumption to several times a year for health reasons. But I love a great steak or stew. My birthday was last week so I treated myself and three friends to prime New York strips from Costco. Costco’s prime meat prices are half of what you pay in a supermarket or butcher.

I prepared the steak a new way for me. Once the steak reached room temperature I oiled and heavily salted with kosher salt. Then I placed the steak on a wire rack and roasted in the oven at 275F until the internal temperature was 120F. I took the steaks out of the oven and heated a cast iron pan to screeching hot. I added avocado oil to the pan because it has a high smoke point. I seared the steaks for 1 min per side and then let them rest for 10 min.

Best steak ever. As tender as tenderloin but with that beefy NY strip flavor. I’m sold on the reverse sear method.

 

[lottabubbles]

I seared the steaks for 1 min per side and then let them rest for 10 min.

I have never been able to let a steak rest for any length of time, I like it hot off the grill and if their is any juices I roll the cut piece in it and chew. if their are any juices left when the steak is consumed I just tilt up the plate and swallow !
we've never been to a Costco but get our meat from Sam's Club or a little IGA affiliated Price Less store up the street.
although the steak sounds terrific, we have chicken drumsticks thawed out for the rotisserie today.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I limit my red meat consumption to several times a year for health reasons. But I love a great steak or stew. My birthday was last week so I treated myself and three friends to prime New York strips from Costco. Costco’s prime meat prices are half of what you pay in a supermarket or butcher.

I prepared the steak a new way for me. Once the steak reached room temperature I oiled and heavily salted with kosher salt. Then I placed the steak on a wire rack and roasted in the oven at 275F until the internal temperature was 120F. I took the steaks out of the oven and heated a cast iron pan to screeching hot. I added avocado oil to the pan because it has a high smoke point. I seared the steaks for 1 min per side and then let them rest for 10 min.

Best steak ever. As tender as tenderloin but with that beefy NY strip flavor. I’m sold on the reverse sear method.

Sounds wonderful. There really are lots of ways to cook a steak besides the normal grill/charcoal methods. Also, I like the term "screeching hot." I'm going to have to try that one out on Mrs. Badger...