Perpetual "What's for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Today" thread

[Emperor]

Well, at least you are in the same Province! My geography is always hazy, and Mercator projection maps tend to distort Canada badly, but surely any part of Ontario is closer to other parts than Missouri is close to any part of Canada.

Complaint because I'd love to eat with her also.

Sue

Fast way to find you way here. Get to Detroit, take bridge, follow road to anywhere lol

Yeah tollbaby that sounds great. hope you make lots

[tollbaby]

see now me? Personally, I'd rather be having dinner at Brad's place

[Emperor]

Tell ya what....to be fair and not pressure some one too much...we'll take turns first your place Tollbaby, than brads and work our ways around each persons place!

[Darb]

Unfortunately, I got home too late to make the meal I'd planned on the previous page, so I just threw together a few odds and ends to make a quick thai style fried rice:

> Saute until softened:
1 tbsp oil
1/2 leftover yellow onion, sliced thin.
1 homegrown green habernero pepper, deseeded and minced fine.
1 clove garlic, sliced (add towards the end so it doesnt burn)

> Add, tossing well, until heated through & absorbs all liquid.
1/2+ cup leftover cooked white rice. (warmed in microwave)
Small spritz of Thai fish sauce
Chopped flat leaf parsley.

> Toss in, flipping and stirring fast, until eggs are set.
Small sprinkle of shredded cheese & sesame seeds (or chopped nuts, if handy).
Generous splash of faux egg substitute.

If desired, add squeezed lime or lemon wedge.

Takes about 5 minutes, flat, and serves 1.

There are endless variations on it - I basically just use up whatever handy in the fridge ... leftover meat, partially cut veggies or citrus, etc.

[Emperor]

Sounds great...my biggest problem with why I don't have any food to list off is that I don't have any food lol....I need to go grocery shopping one of these days, but I'm usually to drained after work and being broke doesn't help at all...lol

I do happen to enjoy making brown butter shrimp.

Here's what I had.

What ever shrimp size you have works best, shelled and deviened works even better.

In a fry pan put butter and spices (mine were garlic powder, cajun seasoning and pepper I believe) melt until brown, being careful not to burn. Place in shrimp and cook until done.

The brown butter adds a very delicious flavour to the shrimp.

[Darb]

With a little roux and curry powder, and a splash of liquid (milk or coconut milk), you'd have English style green curried shrimp.

[Emperor]

I didn't know that was a brown butter style.

My friend and I were just messing round had two bags of shrimp to eat...first batch was good. second because the butter had turned to Brown butter and was nice and thick...it was soo good it disappeared fast

I'm going to have to try that recipe as I love curry

[Darb]

It's not a browned butter recipe ... I should have clarified that. But the cooking technique is almost the same. The only difference is the seasoning (standard greenish supermarket "curry powder", aka "English" green curry powder), and the fact that you're using roux and a little liquid, to make a built-in sauce, which goes over rice.

As for how much roux: figure 2 tbsp flour plus 2 tbsp clarified butter (2.5 tbsp if not clarified) makes just over 3 tbsp of roux**, which is enough to thicken 1 cup of liquid ... from memory, that's probably enough for a pound of shrimp.

Garnish with a little diced tomato, added in the last 60 seconds.

If you have almost any version of a Betty Crocker cookbook, it's in there .. it's been a staple of that book for 50+ years, and it's survived the test of time.

---------------
* ROUX: I keep a 1 cup glass jar of pre-made blonde roux (and 1-2 pts of ghee) in the lower rear of my fridge - I just spoon out a little whenever I need it, and make more when I run out (or if it gets long in the tooth).

[Darb]

Incidentally, Indian shrimp curries are just variations on the same theme ... instead of roux, they use lots of caramelized onions as their thickener/base, and they spice much more generously, and with a different blend of spices. Indian shrimp curries also tend to tart if there's no dairy present, and non-tart if there is - they do that because dairy tends to curdle under heat.

[Emperor]

I'm gonna have to try this, as now i'm drooling like a mad dog on a hot day lol

I will of course have to go shopping first as I do not have even flour at my place. finally ave something to put it in mind you lol

[Darb]

Be sure to lean the basics of roux before trying to use it. There's only a tiny bit of roux in English curry, but it's still important to know how to avoid clumps. It's real easy ... you can just google it. Better still, just go online and buy a used copy of betty crocker for chump change ... it's a good and easy book, and has a wealth of well-honed classic favorites.

[Emperor]

Roux are easy...welches rarebit (spelling) now thast complicated

[Darb]

Feh. Welsh Rarebit is just the UK version of a grilled cheese sandwich. No relation to grape juice or rabbits.

[tollbaby]

Brad, the grape juice is spelled "Welch's". Welsh is "From Wales," smarty.

[Darb]

I know that ... I was poking fun at Emperor's misspelling.

Remind me to quote excerpts on the section about Welsh Rarebit from one of the books I'm currently reading ... Bull Cook. Funny stuff.

[Emperor]

The only way I've seen it made has nothing to do with grilled cheese....flour, cheese beer and some other stuff....

But do love grilled cheese

[Darb]

Well, welsh rarebit is more of a hot cheese sauce (cheese melted with ale & cream & a little mustard, and a little flour as a thickener) dolloped over toast, rather than a grilled dish, granted. As I mentioned, the closest American equivalent is a grilled cheese sandwich. Fondue is loosely related, but that involves dipping stuff (not necessarily toast) into cheese sauce, rather than pouring cheese sauce over toast.

[Darb]

/me twists knife a bit further

The mustard greens are excellent. To speed prep, the cook probably pre-sauteed a massive pot of greens (no doubt with a little spinach mixed in), with onions, spices, garlic & minced ginger, green chilies and asofoetida in ghee, then pureed and reduced it to a thick porridge. To serve, he probably sauteed some more onions, crumbled red chilies (for extra heat to order), and some fresh spices, and then added some of the pre-made puree and simmered it for a few mins (while the onion kulcha baked in the tandoor). The consistency is similar to a good thick dryish spinach saag that can hold firm peaks ... perfect for scooping with torn naan, without being runny.

I actually got 2 orders ... the first for lunch, and the 2nd for dinner. Good enough for 2 identical meals in a row.

Mmmmmm.

Kvetch: I ordered it again today, along with some spinach paneer for dinner.

BTW, one trick I forgot to mention when making such dishes is to include a little finely diced potato early on (emphasis on little - this is not a potato dish) ... when it's pureed with the greens, and then simmered for a bit, it acts as a thinkener, and helps it reach the right consistency.

[Emperor]

I think tonight I'm just having pizza....but theres nothing wrong with that lol

[Darb]

[Mod note: side discusison about reflux split out into separate thread.]

[Emperor]

I have arrived at a craving for something heavy today. Like Potatoes and Sausage.

Which brings me to a question, does anyone have ideas or recipes on making potatoes. Anything more than just boiling them will work. I ask because I'm looking for inspiriation.

Chef at Home Michael Smith today had a Potato Tart that looked to die for...Potatoes meat and cheese...

he's one of my fav tv cooks

[Darb]

Sure.

Here's an easy and tasty version of "Smashed" potatoes. It's easy, because you dont need a blender or mixer, nor is there a delicate liquid balance to fret about - it's simply smashed and loosened slightly, and flavored:

[quote]Origin: Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, Nov/Dec 2004.

Qty Ingredients
2 lbs Peeled All Purpose Potatoes, 2â€

[Emperor]

No I don't have a grill...I have fry pans cookie sheets and pots

[sweetharleygirl]

Cut potatos into wedges, however many you want.
Put a little oil in a bowl, big enough to fit potatos, along with ground pepper, parsley flakes, garlic powder and some curry powder.
Add wedged potatos and mix around until potatos are coated well and put potatos on foil lined cookie sheet.
Roast in oven untill browned and tender.
These are great and easy to make, you can add any spices you like really these are just the ones I uses.

[Emperor]

That I can try...when roasting should they be left alone or turned half way?