Where my fellow cooks at???

[blackjack68]

I tried black garlic at a trade show this weekend.

Not a fan.

[ville5]

Racist. :pop:

[PensFanInDC]

Made pumpkin soup over the weekend. It was my first foray into soup making. It's really easy.

I do not like sweet veggies very much. Carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, etc. If they are cooked they are even worse. I feel the only real applications that I like these foods are in soups or, of course, pies.

[mac5155]

I made Italian beef sandwiches in the crockpot today with a medium hot giardiniera to top with, came out incredible.

Ha, i did the same. I have some leftovers. What can I do with leftover italian beef? I was thinking some sort of tacos/carnitas?

[ville5]

So our daughter's first birthday party (aka family party early, kegger later), will be happening on the first of November. I want to make a crock pot dish, but I want it to be something out of the box that people aren't normally accustomed to having. Any suggestions?

Http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2011/02/gu ... pe.html?=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I would make something like this with extra sauce, hold the grits. Then I'd rub and grill 3-4 dozen wings. Remove wing meat and add to shrimp and sauce. Serve over rice or mash potato or parsnips. Or just with some crusty, chewy bread.

[tifosi77]

So our daughter's first birthday party (aka family party early, kegger later), will be happening on the first of November. I want to make a crock pot dish, but I want it to be something out of the box that people aren't normally accustomed to having. Any suggestions?

Have you ever made carnitas? There's a similar dish from the Yucatan called cochinita pibil. Basically you slow roast a pork shoulder wrapped in a banana leaf with achiote and onions. Funky ingredients are easy to get off Amazon, if no local stores carry banana leaves. It is traditionally eaten with tortillas (in other words, tacos) and served with pickled red onions and sliced habanero chiles. Adjust accordingly to suit your heat and taste levels.

Here's a simple crock pot recipe from Rick Bayless, one of the better Mexican food cooks and authorities in the U.S. and A.

Far and away my favorite Mexican dish.

[shafnutz05]

Thank you for the additional suggestions...tif, would you mind editing that post to include a link to banana leaves that would be suitable for this? Looking at Amazon I have no clue what I am looking at

[tifosi77]

This should get you there.

[count2infinity]

Shad... here's a recipe that I made up that is along the same lines as tif's. It's my pork and potato tacos.

Pork Shoulder... like a 3 pounder.

1 can tomato sauce,
3 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

put that all together, dump into crock pot, put 2 yellow onions in there, sliced into rings or diced, doesn't really matter and put in a few cloves (diced or grated) of garlic. Put the pork on top of that, set it on low, let it cook for 8 hours or so. Shred the pork into a container, pour the left over juices into a different container. Do this the day ahead of the party.

next day: boil a pack of those small potatoes you can get in the store. not the fingerlings, but the little round ones. I prefer the red skins, but get what you want. Anyways, cut them in quarters boil them til they're done (fork should easily go through them). toss those in the crock pot with the meat, the left over sauce, and I like to add an additional sauce:

Take 3 or 4 dried guajillo peppers (you can find them in most stores easily), put a couple cups of water in a pan, get the water boiling, turn off heat, add the peppers to the water, let soak for a while, pull them and discard liquid. here's a good site on how this process works: http://kitchenencounters.typepad.com/bl ... pers-.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saute an onions (one is enough), a red bell pepper, and a jalapeno if everyone likes heat, add some garlic after they're sauteed and throw it all in a blender with the peppers and like 2 cups of chicken stock. Add any of the mexican-esque seasonings you want here too like chili powder, cumin, etc. blend it for a while, then strain it right over top of the meat and potatoes in the crock pot. serve with tortillas, and a nice fresh pico de gallo (you can find a recipe for that), and rather than sour cream, we like to do plain greek yogurt and add a bit of hot sauce to it, stir it up and serve in place of the sour cream.

I'm just rattling stuff off from the top of my head, so some measurements might be off, but that's the general idea.

[Kraftster]

The last time I made carnitas I used a different technique that involves stuffing a casserole dish very tightly and allowing the pork to cook in its own fat. I think the cook time was 2.5 hours (then about 10-15 minutes in broiler) vs. the 8-10 we usually use. I was very happy with the results. I'll try to find the recipe.

My wife did carnitas for my surprise 30th and the guests loved that decision.

[mac5155]

Here's italian beef recipe

3# round roast
1 bell pepper
2 stalks celery
1 cup of ketchup
Tablespoon BBQ
2 cups water
Tablespoon salt (I usually omit )
Teaspoon pepper
Tablespoon minced garlic

[canaan]

Thank you for the additional suggestions...tif, would you mind editing that post to include a link to banana leaves that would be suitable for this? Looking at Amazon I have no clue what I am looking at

4x Hamburger Helper (Cheeseburger)
2x Hunts Tomato Paste
1lb chopped bologna

cook em up, put em in a casserole dish, and serve with your favorite ragu (recipe calls for Prego)

Slappy gave me this recipe...he called it supremo italiano lasagnabrown

[columbia]

I haven't had it in many, many years, but I could go for a fried bologna sandwich.

[mac5155]

with mayo and tomato?

[Shyster]

I've been meaning to try smoking a whole bologna like in this video:

[youtube][/youtube]

[slappybrown]

Thank you for the additional suggestions...tif, would you mind editing that post to include a link to banana leaves that would be suitable for this? Looking at Amazon I have no clue what I am looking at

4x Hamburger Helper (Cheeseburger)
2x Hunts Tomato Paste
1lb chopped bologna

cook em up, put em in a casserole dish, and serve with your favorite ragu (recipe calls for Prego)

Slappy gave me this recipe...he called it supremo italiano lasagnabrown

[eddysnake]

So our daughter's first birthday party (aka family party early, kegger later), will be happening on the first of November. I want to make a crock pot dish, but I want it to be something out of the box that people aren't normally accustomed to having. Any suggestions?

what king of keg are you getting? I know you are new to this parenting thing, so I'll give you a tip: Kegger later needs to be changed to kegger all day. If you need me to come show you how to drink it, please let me know.

[shmenguin]

a 1st birthday party has little to do with the child. it's a party for the parents. make sure they comically eat a chunk of cake, and your duties are fulfilled. so like eddy said, make is kegger all day.

[columbia]

In anticipation of Halloween, I'm making chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

[viva la ben]

Trick or treat is here tonight in our neighborhood, sloppy joe in the crockpot, and oven baked chicken wings are on the menu.

[shafnutz05]

a 1st birthday party has little to do with the child. it's a party for the parents. make sure they comically eat a chunk of cake, and your duties are fulfilled. so like eddy said, make is kegger all day.

lol it's definitely going to be a kegger all day, starting at 2 PM. I should have been more clear, the "official" party is from 2-5pm, when some of our more subdued relatives and neighbors will be there."

I got a half of Yuengling, it's the safest bet for a large party. And it's cheap

[columbia]

In anticipation of Halloween, I'm making chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

I sliced up and aded a whole lemon, which I had never done before with this vague recipe.
Just stupendous.

[mac5155]

Trick or treat is here tonight in our neighborhood, sloppy joe in the crockpot, and oven baked chicken wings are on the menu.

Oven baked chicken wings... paging chefpatrick

[viva la ben]

Dusted with rub, and misted with olive oil, baked at 425 on the convection cycle for an hour with a flip halfway. They were crispy and delicious.

[PensFanInDC]

Making a vodka sauce from scratch tonight. Handmade ravioli with cream, peas, and garlic.