Sandbox thread for cooking, nutrition nazis, your fucking lunch, etc.

QUESTION: what is the best way to make Chinese bbq pork in an oven?

Use some fatty pork shoulder, or belly if you can afford it. Couple, three pounds maybe.

Cut pork v. thin, 1/8th inch, across the grain.

Make a marinade of honey, rice wine vinegar, dark soy sauce, hoisin, five spice powder and split it in half. It'll be a nice deep maroon from the soy, but if you want it a silly degree of red, add a little food dye. Marinate the pork in half of it, preferably overnight. Reserve the rest.

Heat the oven to 300, Put the pork in a single layer on a roasting rack over a foil-lined pan. Flip the pork and brush with the reserved marinade every 10-12 minutes for about an hour.

Now you're talkin, thanks!

you want it a little dark + carmelized at the edges, darker than you might think

Yes! Tell me the best way to make it.

― league of women voters, Thursday, December 15, 2011 8:17 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

hah I've never made it, I just buy it from the supermarket pre-made.

remy's recipe looks nice tho

woah that looks pretty reasonably easy to make. i will try sometime!

the cod was delicious :)

Hi everyone! I'm going to try to make a delicious 4-course meal to impress my new boy + my new roommate. The menu is as follows:

a mind-blowing raw kale salad thing (that is totally easy and I'm going to post the recipe soon and you guys HAVE TO TRY THIS)
some sort of winter squash soup (need a recipe)
one of those gourmet-ass raviolis from Trader Joe's (thinkin goat cheese + sun dried tomato if they have it; it tastes so fancy)
some sort of dessert (no idea what to do here)

does anyone have any squash soup and/or dessert ideas? The kale salad and the ravioli are super simple to make so it's OK if the soup and/or dessert take a bit of effort. I just want it to go w/ the other things and also be totally WOW.

wait so are you not a vegan anymore???

stevie I was disappointed by the goat cheese + sundried tomato one! I like the portabella one tho

RAW TUSCAN KALE SALAD (or just TUSCAN KALE SALAD if yr not feeling bougie-tentious)

1 bunch Lacinato kale (4-5 cups sliced)
2 thin slices country bread
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup basil leaves
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 cup (or small handful) grated Pecorino cheese
1 Tbsp ex-virg olive oil
1 lemon
1/8 tsp crushed red pep
Freshly ground black pep to taste

1. Pound or mince the garlic (this stupid recipe says use a mortar and pestle so I guess you could do that if you want?). Put it in a small bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes "for its flavor to evolve and its full health benefits to emerge"

2. Wash/dry the kale and basil. Trim the excess stems off the kale (up to the bottom of the leaves). Stack the kale leaves on top of each other, roll them up into a tight tube, and cut the kale into half-inch ribbons (chiffonade). Place the kale in a large bowl and allow it to rest for 5 minutes

3. Juice the lemon (it should be about 1/4 cup). Add the Pecorino, oil, lemon juice, pepper flakes, salt and black pepper (to taste) to the garlic. Whisk to combine.

4. Pour the dressing over the kale and toss very well (the dressing is thick and the kale needs to be tossed a lot to coat the leaves well). Let the salad sit for at least 5 minutes for the flavors to combine

5. Toast the bread until golden brown (this ridiculous lady says to do it under a broiler, 1-2 minutes per side, but you can prob just use a fucking toaster). When cooled, tear the slices into small pieces and coarsely chop

6. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and finish the salad by sprinkling it with the bread crumbs, torn basil leaves, and a little more Pecorino and olive oil.

TOTES YUM

Ya I gave up vegan like a year a go bro gwtp! Though I sort of didn't really talk about it at all so even like a year later ppl are all OMGWTF YOU BROKE (V)EDGE!!!

squash soup is really easy. do you have an immersion blender?

That is a great menu! Squash soup is great with Indian spicing--curry, garam masala, sambal, all great! Some coconut milk is great, too. And cilantro, always cilantro :)

Oh and I am totally gonna get kale at the farmer's market tomorrow and prepare it a la StevieD!

it's 5.99/lb sirloin day at whole foods! i made my own chopped beef for burgers for the first time. so good!

^^^

dayo you saying it was so good was what inspired me to do it!

:) it's like eating a thousand tiny burgers in one big burger!

Kale has been procured! I don't have pecorino on hand, but I imagine parmesan will do the trick. Stevie, is the basil really U&K? 'Cause it ain't basil season, so none at the farmer's market this a.m.

Anyone have thoughts on what to do with a 1.5 lb london broil?

It's all a matter of personal taste; I love basil so I'd def go for it if I could but im sure it'd be fine without. The time I had it was with reg kale and not Lacinato (which I've never tried) so I'm hoping the Lacinato will be good

i just got a global chef's knife and a super fancy bread knife AND a brand new universal knife block - all for my b'day!! apparently i have jaq to thank (again) for advising my husband :)

I know it's just work stress but my guts are ruined right now -- going to go on a couple of days of just fruits/juices/steamed vegetables after Christmas. Sling the chitlins against a tree stump while they're still in the pig, knowhatimean?

Tonight we're cooking a gluten free chicago style pizza with layers of italian sausage, pepperoni, thick cut mozzarella slices, homemade chunky tomato sauce, mushrooms, and fresh basil. It's my first homemade pizza from scratch.

I've never really had chicago style pizza aside from Mangia's pizza in Austin. But after watching a cooking show about pizza I felt inspired.

If the OP is still soliciting suggestions for cauliflower, try roasting/frying it and making a soup with roasted chestnuts. I don't know how accessible fresh chestnuts are in the Northern Hemisphere, but hopefully you're close to a farmers' market or similar. Be careful not to let the chestnuts explode in the oven, unless you enjoy watching things explode in your oven. Pumpkin and chestnut soup is also delicious. Score the skins with a craft knife (take care with this, too!), roast, and remove from the oven once slightly blackened. You'll probably have to discard some dud nuts. Whiz with immersion blender or processor.

Finalized dinner party menu:

Kale salad
Kabocha squash soup
Goat cheese and sundried tomato ravioli
Cranberry cheesecake

Omg so excited

would party

yeah nice menu

makin pork loin w/anise seed rub tomorrow for family friends. weeknite bash!

finally got a 2nd coffee grinder for spices. what a taste difference

pork loin always seems like such a good idea but i have never cooked it!
maybe for NYE dinner...
winter is somewhat killing my desire for healthy food. i mean, i eat kale and other vegetables and fruits of course but i also have eaten more potato chips and cookies and imbibed more booze in the past week than i have in the whole year it kinda feels like. and there's more to come, i'm sure... post christmas i am totally on the detox train. someone i know is doing a juice fast throughout the holiday season and i sort of get it now, but still am like, why??

pork roasts and loins are awesome and easy to make. citrus marinade works well with them.

I braised a whole duck at thanksgiving, the braising liquid was:

-soy sauce
-chicken stock
-hoisin
-agave nectar (or honey)
-a couple of cloves (supposed to use star anise but i couldn't find any)
-red wine
-garlic
-carrots
-onions
-celery

1. trim fat off of duck and freeze the trimming + giblets for soup stock
2. brown duck on all sides
3. remove duck and cook carrots, onions and celery in duck fat
4. drain most of the fat
5. add all ingredients and duck, making sure you have enough liquid to almost cover bird
6. simmer until done, maybe two hours
7. remove duck (covering it with foil) and cook the liquid way down to a thick consistency
8. spread glaze on duck and brown in oven for 15 minutes
9. die

9. die

seriously that duck sounds rad

i don't cook meat often mostly for guests. thinking lamb for nye

yeah, the duck was good!

i forgot- peel an orange, section it and drop into the liquid

mmm duck
a friend was telling me abt his work's holiday party at a chinese restaurant and how because half the people were vegetarian he ended up eating like his weight in peking duck. because when peking duck is there you just have to eat it.

One of our main Xmas traditions here is a huge breakfast after the gift-opening. Usually it's standard fare like pancakes & bacon or biscuits/gravy/grits/fried eggs, but this year I made Eggs Hussarde and home fries. So good...still stuffed, five hours later.

Dayyyyyum

i ate abt 15 tamales yesterday:

pumpkin spice...like pumpkin pie in a tamal :D
broc and vegan queso...YES
black bean and cheez...ALSO YES

got myself all geared up to use this week to expand my cooking repertoire to more than 3 dishes, and went to go grocery shopping -- realized it was raining harder than I thought & now I'm back inside... :/

i'm making coq au vin in my fabulous new le creuset french oven!

gonna make paella in my new ceramic casserole dish

these two posts have inspired me to try again to get some damn groceries.

always been intimidated by baking but gonna try the focaccia from this alice waters cookbook i got at xmas.

alice's rap is pretty heavy but the actual recipes seem simple, straightforward i.e. just my speed.

i also found out there are le creuset and calphalon outlets in kittery, maine and they are magical places. i got a $200 calphalon sauce pot for $40! i'm thinking of stopping by the le creuset outlet on my way out of town and buying some pretty casserole dishes.

Took some of the marchand de vin sauce I made for Xmas breakfast and some of the leftover smoked turkey from Xmas Eve dinner and turned them into a wondrous combination for turkey po-boys tonight.

I got a free half gal of vanilla coconut beverage from work and then I picked up some kale, bananas, and frozen strawberries on the ride home. Smoothie time!!

NEW VITAMIX

HOLY SHIT

my coq au vin turned out rather beautifully:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o2Cb7EZU4ks/TvqyRTmcqPI/AAAAAAAAAPc/7k3irbRQ7dE/s640/photo-4.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xjF0L98xxnI/Tvqxz5ncBHI/AAAAAAAAAO8/vA4n4QFvqI0/s640/photo-8.JPG

very purple chicken:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JKnasgil0z0/TvqyL5gswaI/AAAAAAAAAPU/RhRc8coIQRg/s640/photo-5.JPG

yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum