Do You Even Cook, Bro?

[UNM1136]

we are pie snobs and make our crusts with lard.

Us too. Lard for texture, butter for flavor and browning. Usually 60/40.

pat

[SCCY Marshal]

Prep. has begun for tomorrow's gluttonous festivities.

- Cocktail Sauce: Has been made and refrigerated to meld. 1/2 cup no-sugar-added ketchup, 2 heaping tablespoons good deli horseradish, a few vigorous shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce, wedge of lemon squeezed in, and hearty dash of Worcestershire sauce.

- Pâté: Liverwurst, minced red onion, a few splorks of some Italian hot sauce based in balsamic vinegar (also featuring dried porcini mushroom), sour cream, deli mustard, pinch of horseradish.

And, for tomorrow:

Storebought meatballs in homemade sauce for Swedish meatballs, little smoked cocktail weenies wrapped in crescent roll dough to go with curry powdered ketchup and brown mustard, cook and cool shrimp for cocktail, campfire beef stew in a dutch oven, regional honey gin for French 75s, two bottles of Prosecco, sugar cubes and Angostura bitters for champagne cocktails, spicy crab-stuffed mushrooms from the grocer to bake, sparkling apple cider for the kids, handful of the inexpensive Nicaraguan cigars I bought the other day, Orlik Golden Sliced pipe tobacco and fresh corncob pipes, assorted crackers, Three Stooges DVDs out and ready to marathon, local and regional beer in the fridge, and a decanter filled with the remains of a half-forgotten bottle of Bunnahabhain 12 year scotch with pewter quaich on the side.

Domino table, decks of cards, poker chips, stack of opaque cups and sets of dice, chess boards, and one cribbage board set out for games. Wicks freshly trimmed in oil lamps for light.

Veggies? We'll eat some, next year.

Pickled eggs? Have you priced the things, lately? My wife would give me a thorough lesson in conjugation of puukottaa. Again.

[RoyGBiv]

Put on a 3.5lb Corned Beef Brisket this morning... With cabbage and potatoes of course. ($3.49/lb at Kroger... not terrible these days)
Cooking early for St. Pats. I think it tastes better after sitting overnight.

Grew up on corned beef and absolutely love cabbage wedges boiled in the salty beef/beer stock.

Quart of beef stock.
Cans of beer until the beef is covered (my son left us some Budweiser... works great)
Packet of Lipton French Onion Soup mix
Spice packet from the beef package
Bring to a boil then down to simmer for ~3 hours.
Add cabbage wedges and potatoes for ~1 hour.
Remove meat and veggies from pot and let cool.
You can keep the stock and reuse. Skim the fat after it cools.

Question: Do the Irish get dispensation from Lent (no meat Friday) when St. Pats falls on a Friday?

<Another reason why it's good to be Jewish >

[omega9]

Crawfish season is finally back. It was only the me and the wife so we only cooked 5 pounds.

[UNM1136]

Crawfish season is finally back. It was only the me and the wife so we only cooked 5 pounds.

Oh, man...my next birthday will be a crayfish boil...extra sausage, easy on the veg.

My wife absolutely freaks when I tell her she needs to "suck the head", and when I explain what a hepatopacreas is, oh, and that shitty vein, like when eating shrimp...

But my birthday meal is my birthday meal, and crayfish (fed cornmeal and properly purged) will be the meal, and we will suck the heads, and relish the hepatopancreas...

pat

[RoyGBiv]

oh, and that shitty vein, like when eating shrimp...

But my birthday meal is my birthday meal, and crayfish (fed cornmeal and properly purged) will be the meal, and we will suck the heads, and relish the hepatopancreas...

pat

I never understood the recoil at eating the shrimp or crayfish "vein". If it falls out while peeling/pinching, ok... If not, still ok.
I devein when cooking for Wife or guests to be polite.

Wife and Daughter both enjoy tails, but they leave the heads for me... I love "crawfish butter"...

[UNM1136]

I never understood the recoil at eating the shrimp or crayfish "vein". If it falls out while peeling/pinching, ok... If not, still ok.
I devein when cooking for Wife or guests to be polite.

Wife and Daughter both enjoy tails, but they leave the heads for me... I love "crawfish butter"...

Andrew Zimmern while eating chitterings mentioned that there has to be enough flavor to KNOW what you are eating... A little poop, but still tasty. I can kinda get on board, until I can't. Mrs.UNM1136 is a "hard no. Full reverse...Don't even look at me until you have brushed, flossed, waterpiked, and rinsed. And sacrificed a virgin under the full moon."

For me, the tails is more a visual thing, and noting that layer of sweet tail meat that pulls out when you tug the vein. I have noted that if you pull off the tail fins the correct way before removing the shell the vein pulls out pretty cleanly without that little layer of meat getting wasted.

And the next time I have crayfish, some cuticle scissors will save a ton of time.

pat

[RoyGBiv]

I have noted that if you pull off the tail fins the correct way before removing the shell the vein pulls out pretty cleanly without that little layer of meat getting wasted.

We are on the same page...

I remember the first time I ever ate crawfish. I had just started a new job and my manager was in the New Orleans office... I fly in and meet the locals and we go out for dinner to a place on the south side of the lake... Pretty sure it was Deanie's, but, I think there was a place just up the street as well (now gone, IIRC).... They covered the table with newspaper and piled it high... I was hooked.

[UNM1136]

So far today I have mentioned the Mrs respose to "suck the head" and then later I mentioned "tug the vein"....

Heh-heh-heh-heh.

I think I am done for the day. My day started at 2000 yesterday, and in 2.5 hours I am picking the kiddo up at school.

pat

[UNM1136]

I learned something unintentionally yesterday.

Before I went to pick up the kiddo at school I reached into the freezer for my bulk made Turkey and Bean Taco filling I dropped it in the sous vide set at 165 for 1 hour, as is our normal Taco Thursday routine. I accidently grabbed and dunked a one pound package of the chicken sausage I made last week and mentioned in the smoker thread.

When I pulled the chicken sausage out of the sous vide it had gone from frozen to fully cooked, and perfectly crumbled. I realized my error and the frozen taco mix was done and up to temp in about a half hour. I cut the corner off the bag and piped the taco filling into the shells like filling eclairs or piping icing on a cake.

Anyway, the next time I make taco filling I am going to mix the raw turkey with seasoning and canned pinto beans, vacuum seal 1 pound portions and let the sous vide do all the work on Taco Thursday.

Two quick shortcuts that will reduce the dishes needing to be done, and make most of the prep work snd cooking hands off...

pat