Culinary Discussion, We could call it our House of Earthly Delights... Options

[Thomas Kaira]

...but that would be naughty, now, wouldn't it?

This is a thread for any food-related discussion. Found a nice recipe? Please share it! Is there any particular cultural cuisine you wish to discuss? Perhaps you need some help with us pesky Yanks still not adopting the metric system?

I thought our forums were missing something in the way of real down-to-earth discussion and sharing of our culinary experiences. Sure, we see them a lot in Fan-fics, but we never really get to dig into them (bad pun intended) in the same way as actually discussing this world-within-our-world can. I am seeing more and more food segments in the fan-fics that I read, so I think the time has come for us to have an honest-to-goodness culinary discussion thread.

To kick things off, I would like to share a recipe of my own concoction... Veal Osso Bucco, a Northern Italian classic.

Veal Osso Bucco & Sauce Accompaniment

Yield: 4 Portions

Ingredients
Veal Shank w/ marrow bone: 1lb
AP Flour: As Needed
Olive Oil: 2Tbsp
Butter, Clarified: 2Tbsp
Mirepoix, Standard Ratio: 1Lb
Garlic Clove: 2Ea
Red Wine: 1/2Cup
Tomatoes: 12oz
Veal Stock: 1qt
Lemon Zest: 1Tbsp
S&P: TT
Marjoram: 1tsp
*Gremolata: 1oz
-Gremolata
-Parsley: 3tsp
-Lemon Zest: 1tsp
-Garlic Clove: 1Ea

Mise en Place
-Clean, Sanitize workspace
-Gather utensils, pots, pans
-Gather ingredients
-Small Dice Mirepoix, Tomatoes
-Zest Lemons
-Mince Garlic
-Fine-Chop Parsley

Method
1. Preheat Oven 350*, add Oil, Butter to heated pot.
2. Season, brown Veal.
3. Remove Veal, add Mirepoix, Garlic, sweat.
4. Deglaze pot, Red Wine.
5. Add Tomatoes, Veal Stock, bring to simmer.
6. Return Beef to pot, add Lemon Zest, place in oven.
7. Braise, 3 to 4 hours, or until tender.
8. Remove Veal, degrease sauce
9. Reduce Sauce; thicken as needed, strain.
10. Rub Veal w/ Gremolata, return to sauce to reheat.
11. Finish w/ fresh Marjoram.
12. Garnish with Gremolata on the marrow bone.

Believe me, don't skip the marrow bone, it's really that important to this dish.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Feb 13 2011, 07:43 PM

[Olen]

I think you may have come across some old corn meal

It's certainly possible, I mainly use it for making batter stick to confectionary (a scottish habit which is best left out of any sort of culinary discussion). It might well be ancient, and I have both white and yellow. The white stuff is marginally more foul. Possibly it's just impossible to get fresh stuff here.

To be fair I only tried the cornbread a couple of times, I'll give it a go again when I have time to bake and up the egg and xanthane gum content.

[mALX]

I think you may have come across some old corn meal

It's certainly possible, I mainly use it for making batter stick to confectionary (a scottish habit which is best left out of any sort of culinary discussion). It might well be ancient, and I have both white and yellow. The white stuff is marginally more foul. Possibly it's just impossible to get fresh stuff here.

To be fair I only tried the cornbread a couple of times, I'll give it a go again when I have time to bake and up the egg and xanthane gum content.

With the yellow cornbread you can add a pinch of sugar to it, and don't mix in the amount of plain white flour it calls for - cut that in half. (the white flour adds a bitter taste)

Old cornmeal won't do well, GRITS is right about that. (sorry Grits, chalk it up to me being blind as a bat, lol)

This post has been edited by mALX: Feb 28 2011, 01:44 AM

[Thomas Kaira]

Old cornmeal won't do well, TK is right about that.

Umm, I think you mean Grits is right about that, I said nothing about old cornmeal.

When making mashed potatoes, NEVER USE MILK. Use a raw egg, a touch of real butter (not margerine), and a bit of heavy cream. Your family will go nuts over them. Not for dieters.

I never really thought about putting egg into my mashed potatoes. I will take heavy cream over milk any day, but sometimes you just have to work with what you have (and being a professional-in-training, that is a required skill). Heavy cream is just not something you find in huge amounts at the grocery store. I usually buy little tiny half-pinters. If you do things right, there's nothing wrong with using milk in mashed potatoes. I do not compromise on the butter, though. Margarine is just... ugh. Still, never thought of adding an egg. I'll give it a try tonight and tell you how it turns out.

Italian dinners - don't buy a can of Parmesan cheese. Buy a wedge of fresh Parmesan and grate it yourself, same with Romano cheese. - you can't help but taste the difference, and your family will def notice it.

Don't buy anything pre-grated labeled "Parmesan," period if you want true Italian. Parmesan is code-speak for horrible fake Italian hard cheese. What you really want is called Parmigiano-Reggiano, which costs a fortune because it can only be imported from Italy here in North America. Why? Parmigiano-Reggiano is what is known in the EU as a Protected Designation of Origin cheese. This means that in order for the cheese to be named what it is, it has to be made in a very specific location by a very specific method. If either of the requirements are not met, it is illegal to name the cheese with a name that is PDO-protected. In this case, Parmigiano-Reggiano can only be manufactured in Lombardy.

Want to know how expensive this cheese is? One wheel is worth about 500 Euros... domestic (that's $1000 American!).

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Feb 27 2011, 11:55 PM

[mALX]

Old cornmeal won't do well, TK is right about that.

Umm, I think you mean Grits is right about that, I said nothing about old cornmeal.

When making mashed potatoes, NEVER USE MILK. Use a raw egg, a touch of real butter (not margerine), and a bit of heavy cream. Your family will go nuts over them. Not for dieters.

I never really thought about putting egg into my mashed potatoes. I will take heavy cream over milk any day, but sometimes you just have to work with what you have (and being a professional-in-training, that is a required skill). Heavy cream is just not something you find in huge amounts at the grocery store. I usually buy little tiny half-pinters. If you do things right, there's nothing wrong with using milk in mashed potatoes. I do not compromise on the butter, though. Margarine is just... ugh. Still, never thought of adding an egg. I'll give it a try tonight and tell you how it turns out.

Italian dinners - don't buy a can of Parmesan cheese. Buy a wedge of fresh Parmesan and grate it yourself, same with Romano cheese. - you can't help but taste the difference, and your family will def notice it.

Don't buy anything pre-grated labeled "Parmesan," period if you want true Italian. Parmesan is code-speak for horrible fake Italian hard cheese. What you really want is called Parmigiano-Reggiano, which costs a fortune because it can only be imported from Italy here in North America. Why? Parmigiano-Reggiano is what is known in the EU as a Protected Designation of Origin cheese. This means that in order for the cheese to be named what it is, it has to be made in a very specific location by a very specific method. If either of the requirements are not met, it is illegal to name the cheese with a name that is PDO-protected. In this case, Parmigiano-Reggiano can only be manufactured in Lombardy.

Want to know how expensive this cheese is? One wheel is worth about 500 Euros... domestic (that's $1000 American!).

Heavy Cream:
I can only find the half-pints too, at Thanksgiving you sometimes can find them in a pint. I use it a lot in soups, to make whipped cream, (not for banana jubilee, lol), etc.

The egg adds a nuance of rich texture to the mashed potatoes. If you have to use milk - absolutely go with the egg and butter. It is not quite as good as with the heavy cream (which brings your mashed potatoes to a whole new realm of flavor).

On the cheese: Yes, get the imported wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano and grate it yourself - sorry about the laziness in spelling on that.


Another Tip: If you are making homemade potato soup - use heavy cream not milk to thicken, and only use real butter (not margerine). Add fresh celery and onions when you add the potatoes, add fresh mushrooms a little over halfway through the cooking. - these extras bring it out of the realm of potato soup and make it a taste sensation. If you like you can garnish with crumbled bacon and hand grated chedder (that's a matter of personal taste).

This post has been edited by mALX: Feb 28 2011, 02:36 AM