Food recipe thread again!

[fly]

You say it needs more humidity?

I could stick a humidor in the fridge....

I don't think a humidor would work.

 

[JAXvillain]

what about fridges with climate controlled vegetable bins? wonder if those would work

 

[Duke]

Found this the other day. Haven't tried it yet, but will be soon.

PAN-SEARED SALMON WITH MAGICAL BUTTER SAUCE

A couple of lessons here on cooking thick salmon steaks: I like to sear them on a very hot pan to get that nice, crispy-crusty texture and then finish them in the oven. The oven time allows them to finish cooking in the middle without drying out or overcooking the sides. Also, when you're about to put the pan in the oven, do not cover it with a lid. Just cover loosely with tin foil. That allows the heat to build up inside the pan, but will also let moisture escape and keep the salmon's seared sides crisp.

4 pieces of salmon steaks (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 recipe of magical butter sauce (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, brush each salmon steak with olive oil on both sides. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Let rest on counter for 15 minutes to take off the chill.

Heat an oven-safe sauté or frying pan over high heat. When very hot, add the salmon steaks to the pan. Sear for 2 minutes on each side. Cover the pan loosely with tin foil.

Cook for 7-10 minutes in the oven or until desired doneness. Serve with Magical Butter Sauce.

Serves 4

MAGICAL BUTTER SAUCE

(recipe adapted from "Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook")

1/3 cup butter

2 tablespoons fruit preserves of your choice (peach, apricot, seedless blackberry, mango-jalapeno, etc.)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

A good turn of the pepper mill

Generous pinch of salt

In a microwave-safe container, add the butter and melt in the microwave. It's best to do this in a larger container in case the butter splatters and to keep the heat on medium when melting. Stir in the remaining ingredients, return to the microwave for an additional 20 seconds, if necessary, to melt the preserves. The sauce is ready to use.

 

[fly]

If you're interested, here's the Cooks Illustrated article that gave me the idea...

Published March 1, 2010. From Cook's Illustrated.

Dry-aged steak has superior flavor and texture, but it's expensive. Is it possible to dry-age steaks at home?

In commercial dry-aging, butchers hold large primal cuts of beef (typically the rib or short loin sections) for up to 30 days in humid refrigerators ranging between 32 and 40 degrees. (The humidity is necessary to prevent the meat’s exterior from drying out too much.) As moisture evaporates, the fat becomes more concentrated, increasing meaty flavor. The dehydration process also triggers the breakdown of muscle proteins, resulting in a dense, more tender texture. At the same time, the breakdown of muscle encourages the formation of amino acids and peptides, which impart a meatier, smokier taste.

To try replicating these results at home on a smaller scale, we bought rib-eye and strip steaks (each $10.99 per pound) and stored them in the back of the refrigerator, where the temperature is coldest. Since home refrigerators are less humid than the commercial units used for dry-aging, we wrapped the steaks in cheesecloth to allow air to pass through while also preventing excessive dehydration and checked them after four days (the longest length of time we felt comfortable storing raw beef in a home fridge).

Their edges looked appropriately dried out, so we pan-seared the home-aged steaks and tasted them alongside a batch of the same commercially dry-aged cuts costing $19.99 per pound. Our findings? Sure enough, four days of dry-aging in a home fridge gave the steaks a comparably smoky flavor and dense, tender texture. As long as you remember to wrap the meat in plenty of cheesecloth, place it on a wire rack for air circulation, and store it in the coldest part of the fridge, you can skip shelling out extra money for commercially aged cow.

 

[Syrup Beaver]

Thanks fly, I'll talk to the Mrs. about giving it a shot

 

[fly]

Thanks fly, I'll talk to the Mrs. about giving it a shot

Then here's what I did for the pan searing...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html

 

[APRIL]

The potato side dish is simple. Just baby potatoes cut in half and covered in olive oil, s/p and a load of Rosemary. Set it under the broiler for however long until they brown a bit.

It's great for when you don't feel like cooking.

 

[dbzeag]

The potato side dish is simple. Just baby potatoes cut in half and covered in olive oil, s/p and a load of Rosemary. Set it under the broiler for however long until they brown a bit.

It's great for when you don't feel like cooking.

I like doing that with paprika, too. Very nice flavor on potatoes I find.

 

[zengirl]

I do my easy peasy roasted veg side that my brothers love...

Oven to 375

wash and cut potatos, carrots and onions, the size is up to you, I like things chunky, I use fingerling potatos and cut the carrrots just a bit smaller

put everything in a baking dish, add some low sodium beef broth, salt and pepper and cover loosely with foil, roast for 45min to an hour, just check to make sure the liquid doesn't evaporate

 

[fly]

I do my easy peasy roasted veg side that my brothers love...

Oven to 375

wash and cut potatos, carrots and onions, the size is up to you, I like things chunky, I use fingerling potatos and cut the carrrots just a bit smaller

put everything in a baking dish, add some low sodium beef broth, salt and pepper and cover loosely with foil, roast for 45min to an hour, just check to make sure the liquid doesn't evaporate

How much broth? What is the consistency like when its done? Soup? Stew?

 

[zengirl]

How much broth? What is the consistency like when its done? Soup? Stew?

I use the broth to give flavor and prevent drying out, dont really serve the broth when it's done.

for a bag of carrots and a bag of fingerling potatos I use about 2 cups of broth, which is about half a box of the Swansons.

 

[tre]

So I'm off work for testicular reasons today, and I wanted some French onion soup. But it's not really soup weather, so I figured I could use the soupe idea, but make it into a grilled cheese.

So I caramelized some onions in a little olive oil with some fresh thyme, like so

Them fired up my grill press, basically a stove top panini maker, with some multigrain bread and some Emmenthal cheese. The result was fuckin awesome

 

[JAXvillain]

that's a lot of god damned onions!

 

[tre]

that's a lot of god damned onions!

4 onions will make about 4 sandwiches. I have leftover onions.

 

[APRIL]

I love our stove top panini press. The sandwichs are freaking delicious!!!

 

[Rollout]

Wait 4 onions for 4 sandwiches. How big are the sandwiches

 

[tre]

Wait 4 onions for 4 sandwiches. How big are the sandwiches

when you caremelize them, it releases most of their liquid. the volume decreases by about 3/4 or so

 

[Rollout]

oh crap ive been doing them wrong all this time. I wouldnt let them sit 4 as long as u. THX

 

[fly]

So I'm off work for testicular reasons today, and I wanted some French onion soup. But it's not really soup weather, so I figured I could use the soupe idea, but make it into a grilled cheese.

So I caramelized some onions in a little olive oil with some fresh thyme, like so

[IG]http://uselessforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3024[/IMG]

Them fired up my grill press, basically a stove top panini maker, with some multigrain bread and some Emmenthal cheese. The result was fuckin awesome

[MG]http://uselessforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3025[/IMG]

Well done sir. Looks frackin delish.

 

[Thorn Bird]

maaaaaaan that grilled cheese looks fantastic!!!!!!