“Show up, give a s*** and repeat.”

[keesler 5,934]

I'm loving this thread guys!  

And all this discussion about good food & cooking techniques among the men folk in no way infringes on the superior cuisine the ladies put on the table.  (Zero misogynism)

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 minute ago, cbo said:

Man, same here with the basil. A shame, since it's my favorite herb and I love cooking Italian. 

Dude, me too. 

Btw, really looking forward to the NIL deal @McLoofusjust signed with @RunInRedto film his weekly cooking show for this board. Guest appearances from the Louisiana contingent will kill it. 

[cbo 8,103]

14 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

A big part of me is the reduce/reuse/recycle aspect of it. Taking literal trash and using it to make your food taste better with minimal effort... like, it doesn't get any better for me than that. BUT... it really does make your food taste better. And there's no substitute for that fatty protein umami. 

And you don't have to add anything but the carcass. You can always season when you put it in your meal. The only critical part is extracting that fat and flavor out of the bones and infusing your water with it. Everything else is just using whatever's on hand.

Do me a favor. If you guys ever get rotisserie chickens from the grocery, just save all the chicken bones and boil for 20 minutes. Strain that and then use it instead of water for any savory dish. Hell, just cook some rice or pasta in it. 

I'm getting hungry. 

Homemade stock is one of the easiest ways to vastly improve your cooking. And it's not hard. You won't screw it up @Barnacle. I mean, all you are really trying to do is beat the flavor of water. 

If you have onion, garlic, celery, carrots, parsley that are about to go bad, throw them in the freezer and pull out when you have some meat bones to make a stock. Toss in a couple bay leaves (or don't, whatever). Cooking time doesn't have to be precise. Makes the house smell like Thanksgiving. 

Rotisserie chickens are a huge timesaver. Shred the meat for soups, casseroles, whatever. Then make that stock!

[McLoofus 35,182]

@cbo has entered the chat, and how!

Quick grits- zero shame. I finally had to accept awhile ago that being a faux traditionalist and authenticity jerk gave me a stupid all-or-nothing mentality that led to lots of takeout and frozen meals because I "didn't have time" for a home cooked meal. Screw that, man. So much money and bad calories wasted. 

If quick grits is the difference between cooking and not, tear open that little paper packet, baby!

Ma Loof bought a $25 "shrimp pho" quick fix meal from Fresh Market last night. You know, they give you the noodles, the chopped veggies, the broth, etc and a recipe card and you cook it. Felt like cheating and definitely wasn't "authentic" but the whole family ate a fresh cooked meal that was healthy and damned good for $25. We chalked up a dubya. 

As for the shrimp and grits and any other recipes I might share, I'm assuming a certain level of proficiency in the kitchen on the part of the reader. It's clear that I'm safe to do that with this crew, but I did want to add that disclaimer. Like, I'm not going to type out that you need to let a pan heat first or add olive oil or whatever. Everything is personal taste anyway. I do love it when people share technique, though. Mainly for getting the right texture on foods. I'm always open to hearing how people cook meat and fish, how long and at what temp to bake things, anything related to a really good sauce, etc. 

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

27 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

A big part of me is the reduce/reuse/recycle aspect of it. Taking literal trash and using it to make your food taste better with minimal effort... like, it doesn't get any better for me than that. BUT... it really does make your food taste better. And there's no substitute for that fatty protein umami. 

And you don't have to add anything but the carcass. You can always season when you put it in your meal. The only critical part is extracting that fat and flavor out of the bones and infusing your water with it. Everything else is just using whatever's on hand.

Do me a favor. If you guys ever get rotisserie chickens from the grocery, just save all the chicken bones and boil for 20 minutes. Strain that and then use it instead of water for any savory dish. Hell, just cook some rice or pasta in it. 

I'm getting hungry. 

Or save those wing tips if you cut them off to make a stock. 

[TJRanger175 209]

This is the most interesting thread I have seen in my very short time on this board.

Part "Days", Part "Master Chef", Part ESPN.

[cbo 8,103]

5 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

@cbo has entered the chat, and how!

Quick grits- zero shame. I finally had to accept awhile ago that being a faux traditionalist and authenticity jerk gave me a stupid all-or-nothing mentality that led to lots of takeout and frozen meals because I "didn't have time" for a home cooked meal. Screw that, man. So much money and bad calories wasted. 

If quick grits is the difference between cooking and not, tear open that little paper packet, baby!

Ma Loof bought a $25 "shrimp pho" quick fix meal from Fresh Market last night. You know, they give you the noodles, the chopped veggies, the broth, etc and a recipe card and you cook it. Felt like cheating and definitely wasn't "authentic" but the whole family ate a fresh cooked meal that was healthy and damned good for $25. We chalked up a dubya. 

 

You nailed it here. I've wasted way too much money on doordash and mediocre food. Find the shortcuts that work for you and have no shame. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, TJRanger175 said:

This is the most interesting thread I have seen in my very short time on this board.

Part "Days", Part "Master Chef", Part ESPN.

Hate that I immediately knew what you meant by "Days", but my freshman year roommate and I 100% watched Days of our Lives. Marlena, John Black, Stefano, Billie (Krista Allen Billie, IYKYK), Bo, Sammie... Man, the twists! The turns! I checked out on the Marlena possession, though. 

We also watched a fat block of syndicated Golden Girls and Wings. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, cbo said:

You nailed it here. I've wasted way too much money on doordash and mediocre food. Find the shortcuts that work for you and have no shame. 

We FINALLY got homemade pizza right. The key isn't a stone... it's a screen. (If you're baking in the oven like me.) Y'all probably already knew this. But a little olive oil on the screen, lay your Publix pre-made crust on there, top as you like, follow the baking instructions on the crust, give it a little lift and separation from time to time to avoid sticking.... I like just crushed San Marzanos with basil and salt, but my wife likes a more Americanized sauce. Muir Glen makes a really good one. 

Sorry... this is just a continuation of the theme of... I don't have to make a dough from scratch and hack my oven with insulation to get it up to 750 degrees/buy an expensive and highly specialized oven to bake an authentic Neopolitan pie in 4 minutes... like, I can just buy a damned pizza crust from Publix and throw it in the oven...

[fredst 9,064]

11 minutes ago, TJRanger175 said:

This is the most interesting thread I have seen in my very short time on this board.

Part "Days", Part "Master Chef", Part ESPN.

The Powell Gordon thread may be in danger of being surpassed….

[DAG 34,093]

Just now, fredst said:

The Powell Gordon thread may be in danger of being surpassed….

You just threw me off with your pic

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, fredst said:

The Powell Gordon thread may be in danger of being surpassed….

Iron sharpens iron. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, DAG said:

You just threw me off with your pic

Flippin love it. Magritte is wild. Bonus points for making me think of Being There.

 

[Tiger Refuge 6,686]

So much to react and respond to here… that’ll take me some time. Just wanted to drop a plug for these folks https://www.billeauds.com out of Broussard, LA(also home to Parish brewing)

Their crawfish boudin is absolutely outstanding, especially if you have time to smoke it. 

Edited September 22, 2021 by Tiger Refuge

[fredst 9,064]

11 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Flippin love it. Magritte is wild. Bonus points for making me think of Being There.

 

Love that movie. Can’t get my kids to watch it with me

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, fredst said:

Love that movie. Can’t get my kids to watch it with me

So subtle and full of nuance. Certainly not built for the modern attention span. Sellers' genius on full display. 

[fredst 9,064]

32 minutes ago, DAG said:

You just threw me off with your pic

Feeling like the Invisible Man these days.
Love that book….

Edited September 22, 2021 by fredst

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, Tiger Refuge said:

So much to react and respond to here… that’ll take me some time. Just wanted to drop a plug for these folks https://www.billeauds.com out of Broussard, LA(also home to Paraih brewing)

Their crawfish boudin is absolutely outstanding, especially if you have time to smoke it. 

Yeah so hopefully I can just give them my CC # and they can just surprise me with whatever. 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

23 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

We FINALLY got homemade pizza right. The key isn't a stone... it's a screen. (If you're baking in the oven like me.) Y'all probably already knew this.

I haven't used a screen. I "cheat" with an electric countertop convection oven by lining the shelf with thin "split" firebricks and pre-heating them for up to an hour under the broiler before sliding the fresh dough pizza in on top. Gets that "blistered" crust just right, even with a countertop oven.

[cole256 17,084]

3 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

So subtle and full of nuance. Certainly not built for the modern attention span. Sellers' genius on full display. 

Do we have a movie thread? That's a little hobby of mine. Love analyzing and breaking down movies.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, CleCoTiger said:

I haven't used a screen. I "cheat" with an electric countertop convection oven by lining the shelf with thin "split" firebricks and pre-heating them for up to an hour under the broiler before sliding the fresh dough pizza in on top. Gets that "blistered" crust just right, even with a countertop oven.

So I wasn't satisfied with any of the reaction options but suffice it to say my reaction to this information is emotional.

We're actually looking at a countertop convection oven for Christmas. Any recommendations?

Do you know if there is an online resource further explaining this brick configuration, could you share a pic?

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Do we have a movie thread? That's a little hobby of mine. Love analyzing and breaking down movies.

All Things Considered > Movies

 

[cbo 8,103]

22 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

We FINALLY got homemade pizza right. The key isn't a stone... it's a screen. (If you're baking in the oven like me.) Y'all probably already knew this. But a little olive oil on the screen, lay your Publix pre-made crust on there, top as you like, follow the baking instructions on the crust, give it a little lift and separation from time to time to avoid sticking.... I like just crushed San Marzanos with basil and salt, but my wife likes a more Americanized sauce. Muir Glen makes a really good one. 

Sorry... this is just a continuation of the theme of... I don't have to make a dough from scratch and hack my oven with insulation to get it up to 750 degrees/buy an expensive and highly specialized oven to bake an authentic Neopolitan pie in 4 minutes... like, I can just buy a damned pizza crust from Publix and throw it in the oven...

It's settled, I'll have to try the screen. I've made some good pizzas, but never great.

I like the same type of sauce as you. Your wife might also like Rao's pizza sauce. Everything I've tried by them is good. I am normally a huge believer in a homemade marinara (ex of when a shortcut is not worth it to me). But in a pinch, Rao's is as close to homemade as I have ever had in a jar. 

I've been told the pre-rolled dough at Publix is shipped to the store frozen, while the balls are made on site. I do taste a little difference and prefer the dough balls. Again, a convenience/personal taste determination. 

[fredst 9,064]

3 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Do we have a movie thread? That's a little hobby of mine. Love analyzing and breaking down movies.

If there is not already a thread that is one I would love to participate in. 
 

Edit: I now see @McLoofus response

Edited September 22, 2021 by fredst

[cbo 8,103]

3 minutes ago, fredst said:

If there is not already a thread that is one I would love to participate in. 
 

Edit: I now see @McLoofus response

I'd be into that, too. Also, is there a cooking thread? Other than this one, I mean. 

The problem is the threads off the football board are easily forgotten. They don't seem to get nearly as much traction as a random cooking tangent on the main board, like this one.