OMG Good eats.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Rainy day food, that we had for dinner last night.  Once again, I'm rendering this recipe from memory, so all amounts are "approximate."

Hearty Beef Barley Soup
Not only is this stuff delicious and good for you (it's loaded with veggies and barley), it will also save you a bucket of money if you are - like my wife - in the habit of buying the canned stuff at three bucks a can.

Ingredients

2.00 tb Oil (any kind you like)
2.00 c  Onion, diced small
1.00 c  Celery, diced
1.00 c  Carrot, sliced (diced if they're big carrots)
1.00 c  Red Potato (peel on!), cubed
4.00 ea Garlic cloves, minced
1.00 lb Beef, stewing cut
1.00 qt Beef Broth
10.5 oz Beef consommé (one can) (sub "condensed beef broth" if you can't find consommé)
2.00 ts Dried Thyme
2.00 ts Dried Basil
2.00 ea Bay Leaves
0.50 ts Black Pepper
1.00 ts Salt
1.00 qt Water
1.00 ts Worchestershire sauce
2.00 ts Hot sauce (adjust amount to your taste and the heat of your hot sauce of choice)
1.00 c  Pearled Barley (I like barley, so I use a lot.  You can use less if you want.)

Directions

I'm going to assume that the cook already knows how to prepare all of the ingredients, so we'll get right to the cooking part.  In a heavy four quart (or larger) pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of oil (use whatever you like, I use a combination of vegetable oil and rendered bacon fat) over medium heat until it starts to ripple.  Once the oil is hot, add the beef (you know the right stuff to get, it's labeled "beef for stewing" at the supermarket) and brown it on all sides for a couple of minutes.  After the beef takes on a little color, add the vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, potato, and garlic) and salt, and sweat them until the onion turns translucent and the carrots begin to soften.  

Now that the beef is brown and the veggies are good and sweated, it's time to add some liquid.  It's not soup without plenty of liquid, right?  Into the pot go the following: one quart of beef broth (the stuff you buy in a carton at the grocery store is fine), one quart of water, the entire can of beef consommé (or condensed beef broth, it's close enough), one teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce, and two teaspoons of hot sauce.  A word about the hot sauce: different people have different tastes, and different hot sauce brands have different levels of heat to them.  That having been said, this soup shouldn't be spicy, but it should have the tiniest amount of bite to it.  Adjust your hot sauce addition to suit your taste and, if in doubt, leave it out.

Next come the dry herbs and spices: two teaspoons each dried basil and thyme, two bay leaves, and one half teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper all go into the pot.  Follow those with a cup of pearled barley, and your pot should be looking pretty darn full.

Bring the whole thing up to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer for the next three hours.  Yes, three hours.  Longer if you can manage it, but I consider three hours the minimum for this soup.  Keep an eye on the soup, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom, and add more water if things begin to look a bit too thick.

Your patience will be rewarded.

[Oni]

Okay.

Today I am going to take a Paw at Smoking Trout. Why you ask. Well because I have ALOT of it, and nothing better to do with it, and I LOVE smoked trout.

After Diging around I found a Recipe I like, course I modded it some, and I am sure you guys will say it's WAY over kill for a Brine. But HAY, I always go over board. LOL.


Unless you have a very large bowl I would suggest you use your biggest kitchen pot to put this together, and then when finished place it over the fish in tubberware over night.


8 Cups warm water
1 1/2 Cups Cosher Salt
2 Cups Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons of Crushed Garlic
4 Tablespoons of Onion salt
1 3/4 cups Corn Syrup
3 + shots of your favorite Hot Sauce
Peper
6 cups of white wine.


Now if your not up for using all that wine feel free to replace it with water. I prefer the wine for taiste.



Mix all that together, and then add your fillets. I hear that if you trim them down to about 2 inch wide strips they smoke better. But really this is Trout we are talking about, unless you get into the bigger lakes your not going to find that big of trout anyway. LOL. SO I say just fellet it, and leave the skin on, and smoke away.

From what I under stand you want to let your fish brine for about 6-12 hours. I am going to do mine over night, that way I can start smoking tomorrow morning.

Take your Fish out and let dry on a paper towel for about an hour while you prep your smoker.

Prehet your smoker for about an hour, and put in your fish. (make sure your drip pan is in) Smoke your fish for 6-12 hours..... (okay can some one help me find a better way of finding out if the fish is done please.)

If you like your fish more on the sweet side you can coat them with Honey before you put them in the smoker.


I believe you can use this recipe for salmon as well. I have not tried that yet. Going to as soon as I get some thought.


(i) I have some in the freeze (i)


Anyway From here you can use it to make a nice Smoked salmon/trout spread, salad and fish steak dinner.


Kitsune Do Smoked Salmon/Trout

Cream Cheese
Salmon/Trout
Chopped Onion
Chopped Green Onion
Crab (fake is okay, it's what I use)
Cayenne (sp)
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Vinegar

And if you realy want to make it sizzle .... add some more Cayenne.


Toss some Smoked Fishy over a nice salad with a soft vinaigrette

Through down some Fishy Steaks, and you got yourself one hell of a dinner.

The fishy Steaks you coudl always wrap in foil and add some lemon and herbs to it and through on the grill. ..


*pullls* I like gold fishes cause there soooo delishish.... gotta send my son fishing. muhahahaha.  

To be honest I do not know the proportions. But that's  what goes in it.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Kitsune Do Smoked Salmon/Trout

Cream Cheese
Salmon/Trout
Chopped Onion
Chopped Green Onion
Crap (fake is okay, it's what I use)
Cayenne (sp)
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Vinegar

Epic.  Spelling.  FAIL.

[Oni]

Kitsune Do Smoked Salmon/Trout

Cream Cheese
Salmon/Trout
Chopped Onion
Chopped Green Onion
Crap (fake is okay, it's what I use)
Cayenne (sp)
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Vinegar

Epic.  Spelling.  FAIL.

It's a gay thing. LOL.

[Oni]

Not to toot my own horn but

* Oni C@ TOOT TOOT

That is the best smoked salmon I have ever had.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Not to toot my own horn but

* Oni C@ TOOT TOOT

That is the best smoked salmon I have ever had.

I'd be impressed, if it hadn't been trout that you cooked....

[Oni]

Not to toot my own horn but

* Oni C@ TOOT TOOT

That is the best smoked salmon I have ever had.

I'd be impressed, if it hadn't been trout that you cooked....

And salmon

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Still not impressed.  Fag-smoked stinkfish?  Nooooooo thank you!

[Oni]

Still not impressed.  Fag-smoked stinkfish?  Nooooooo thank you!

Understanding that you have a nack for giving me sh**, some times it just gets old. LOL.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Understanding that I genuinely hate salmon, I thought maybe you'd figure out I'm giving the entreé sh** and not you.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Been eating these out of the freezer for the last couple weeks, and they're darn tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipe.  Mind you, the last time I ate some of these things was when I was a kid passing through Mississippi on the way to Georgia...and these are, if anything, better than the restaurant ones I remember eating.

Not to mention these suckers are a bazillion times better than anything you can get here in Anchorage.  I give you:

Mississippi Delta Tamale Trail Hot Tamales
Deliriously simple, ridiculously delicious, and incredibly easy to screw up.  The quality of your ingredients matters here, so follow directions carefully!  Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, but you already know I worship that dude.

Ingredients

(For the meat filling)
0.25 c     Chili Powder (homemade if at all possible)
2.00 tb    Kosher Salt
1.00 tb    Paprika
1.00 tb    Smoked Paprika
1.00 tb    Garlic Powder
1.00 tb    Onion Powder
2.50 ts    Cayenne Pepper (more or less depending on how hot your chili powder is)
2.00 ts    Black Pepper
1.00 ts    Ground Cumin (freshly toasted and ground is better than pre-ground, of course)
2.00 lb    Pork Shoulder, boneless (also sold as "Boston butt" or "pork sirloin")
0.50 c     Vegetable Oil
1.00 ea    Large Onion, finely chopped
4.00 ea    Garlic Cloves, minced
1.00 ea    Jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

(Wrappers)
4 to 5 dozen dried corn husks

(For the dough)
2.00 lb    Yellow Cornmeal
1.50 tb    Kosher Salt
1.00 tb    Baking Powder
7.50 oz    Lard
3.50 c     Reserved cooking liquid (more or less as needed)


Directions

For the meat filling:

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, kosher salt, paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and cumin. Divide the mixture in half and reserve 1 half for later use.

Cut the Boston butt into 6 even pieces and place into a 6 to 8-quart saucepan. Add half of the spice mixture and enough water, 3 to 3 1/2 quarts, to completely cover the meat. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat is very tender and falling apart, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the meat from the cooking liquid to a cutting board. Leave the cooking liquid in the pot. Both meat and liquid need to cool slightly before making dough and handling. Remove any large pieces of fat and shred the meat into small pieces, pulling apart with your hands or using 2 forks.

Place a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Once shimmering, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are semi-translucent, approximately 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and remaining half of the spice mixture and continue to cook for another minute. Add the meat and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

For the wrappers:

While the meat is cooking, place the husks in a large bowl or container and submerge completely in hot water. Soak the husks until they are soft and pliable, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 hours.

For the dough:

Place the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and combine. Add the lard and using your hands, knead together until the lard is well incorporated into the dry mixture. Gradually add enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 3 to 4 cups to create a dough that is like thick mashed potatoes. The dough should be moist but not wet. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside until ready to use.

To assemble the tamales:

Remove a corn husks from the water and pat dry to remove excess water. Working in batches of 6, lay the husks on a towel and spread about 2 tablespoons of the dough in an even layer across the wide end of the husk to within 1/2-inch of the edges. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture in a line down the center of the dough. Roll the husk so the dough surrounds the meat, then fold the bottom under to finish creating the tamale. Repeat until all husks, dough and filling are used. Tie the tamales, around the center, individually or in groups of 3, with kitchen twine.

To cook the tamales:

Stand the tamales upright on their folded ends, tightly packed together, in the same saucepan used to cook the meat. Add the reserved broth from making the dough and any additional water so the liquid comes to 1-inch below the tops of the tamales. Try not to pour the broth directly into the tops of the tamales. Cover, place over high heat and bring to a boil, approximately 12 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to low, to maintain a low simmer, and cook until the dough is firm and pulls away easily from the husk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Serve the tamales warm. For a 'wet' hot tamale, serve with additional simmering liquid. Store leftover tamales, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the freezer, for up to a month. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and steam until heated through.

Now, since this recipe uses so much chili powder, I feel it's worth mentioning that I never buy the stuff.  Oh, it's useful to have around, but have you looked at the price on those little jars at the supermarket?  Seven bucks for two freaking ounces!  Noooo thank you!  Not only is that sh** expensive, it just doesn't taste like anything...even when I eat a spoonful of the stuff (and yes, I've done exactly that).  Alton Brown's recipe for homemade chili powder not only tastes better, it's also way cheaper.  Chances are, you've got half the ingredients in your pantry (or whatever serves as your spice repository) right now, and the rest you can pick up at New Sagaya:

Chili Powder (Spice Blend)
Beware: even after removing the seeds from your dried peppers, this stuff will still be hot.  That's as it should be, but I want you to understand that this stuff isn't for the meek.  Credit again goes to Alton Brown for the recipe.

Ingredients

3.00 ea    Ancho Chiles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
3.00 ea    Cascabel Chiles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
3.00 ea    Arbol Chles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
2.00 tb    Cumin, whole
2.00 tb    Garlic Powder
1.00 tb    Oregano, dried
2.00 ts    Smoked Paprika

Directions

First, I want to point out that the best tool for the job of taking apart your dried chiles is a good pair of scissors.  Just cut around the stem area, pull the stem and core out, shake the seeds out, then cut into pieces with the scissors.  After that, place all of the chiles and the cumin into a medium nonstick saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, moving the pan around constantly, until you begin to smell the cumin toasting, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.

Once cool, place the chiles and cumin into the carafe of a blender along with the garlic powder, oregano, and paprika. Process until a fine powder is formed. Allow the powder to settle for at least a minute before removing the lid of the carafe. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Planned for dinner tomorrow night:

Beef & Beer Stew with Cheese Dumplings
This meal really speaks for itself.

Ingredients

(For the stew)

2.00 lb   Stewing Beef
3.00 tb   Oil
1.00 ea   Large Onion, sliced
0.50 lb   Bacon, chopped
3.00 tb   All-purpose Flour
2.00 c    Beef Stock or Broth
12.0 oz   Beer (one bottle of whatever you like)
3.00 ea   Bay Leaves
1.00 tb   Brown Sugar
1.00 tb   Worchestershire sauce

(For the dumplings)

0.25 lb   Self-rising Flour
1.00 ts   Baking Powder
1.75 oz   Butter, melted
1.00 ea   Egg
1.50 oz   Cheddar Cheese, grated - sharper is better!


Directions

Stew:  Render bacon in a large pot or dutch oven until crisp, then remove the crispy bits, set aside, and add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the rendered bacon fat.  Add the beef to the pot and brown on all sides before removing and setting aside.  Next into the pot is the onion and three tablespoons of vegetable oil: saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.  Then add three tablespoons of flour to the pot and make a white roux: stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the flour starts to smell nice and nutty.  To this roux, add: the beef stock, beer, bay leaves, sugar, Worchestershire sauce, and browned beef.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook - lid partly open, please! - until the beef is tender (1 to 1.5 hours).  Remember, this is a stew: longer cooking is better.

Dumplings: Fifteen to twenty minutes before you plan to serve the stew is a good time to get the dumplings together.  In a small bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.  In a separate container, mix the melted butter, egg, and cheese.  Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir to combine.  Add a tablespoon or two of water if necessary to help it come together.  Roll into 8 balls with your hands and place on top of the stew (now is also a good time to remove the bay leaves).  Place the lid back on, boost the heat a little bit, and cook for 15 minutes or so.

Garnish with the crispy bacon, maybe some chopped scallions, and serve with a nice, cold beer.

[Oni]

Edit:  This thread has gotten big enough to really require a Table of Contents.  So, here you go, in order of appearance (use your browser's "find" function to search if you need to).  Each recipe is listed separately, even if they appear in a post containing multiple recipes, and all recipe names are faithfully reproduced (typos and all) and credited to the post author:

• "Perogies" - OniC@
  
• "Red Beans & Rice" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Creole Pickled Pork" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Creole Seasoning Blend" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Stovetop Ramen Noodles" - Rachael
  
• "Cheese Sandwich" - Rachael
  
• "Cereal" - Rachael
  
• "Beef Soup the way Dad used to make it" - Rosa D.
  
• "Pork Chops" - kibaspirit
  
• "Taylor-Made High Octane Eggnog" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Rosemary Garlic Pork Roast" - Im1ru1
  
• "Honey Sesame Chicken" - Eternimus
  
• "Beef Stroganoff" - Eternimus
  
• "Good Eats Meatloaf" - OniC@
  
• "Beer Batter Anything! - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Sesame Chicken" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Sweet Potato Pie" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "French Onion Dip" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "IMJADARA (with rice)" - Rachael
  
• "Sauerbraten" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Spaetzle" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Baked Stuffed Flounder" - OniC@
  
• "Tuna Noodle Casserole" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Sauerkraut" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Skirt Steak" - OniC@
  
• "Curry Steak" - Zev the Dog
  
• "Tempura Batter" - OniC@
  
• "Tempura Sauce" - OniC@
  
• "Pineapple Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce" - OniC@
  
• "Sesame Chicken" - OniC@
  
• "Lasagna" - brainspider
  
• "Salisbury Steak" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Mongolian Beef" - OniC@
  
• "Pad Thai" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Pecan Pie" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Eternimus' Chicken Cordon Bleu" - Eternimus
  
• "Eternimus' Fettucine Alfredo" - Eternimus
  
• "Millie's Favorite Beef Stew a la Taylor-MadeAK" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Berry-Orange-Banana Smoothie" - Goman Fox
  
• "Eternimus-Style Country Gravy" - Eternimus
  
• "Baking Powder Biscuits" - Eternimus
  
• "Sausage Gravy" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Thai Peanut Satay Sauce" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce - OniC@
  
• "Real Sweet & Sour Sauce Isn't Pink!" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Trouble" - Ekim
  
• "Classic Chicken & Sausage Gumbo" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Kartoffelsalat - Potatoe Salad" - Catwiesel
  
• "Wurstsalat - Sausage-Salad" - Catwiesel
  
• "Linsen mit Spätzle - Lentils with "Spätzle"" - Catwiesel
  
• "Hearty Beef Barley Soup" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Kitsune Do Smoked Salmon/Trout" - OniC@
  
• "Mississippi Delta Tamale Trail Hot Tamales" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Chili Powder (Spice Blend)" - Taylor-MadeAK
  
• "Beef & Beer Stew with Cheese Dumplings" - Taylor-MadeAK
  

thanks dude that's  awesome

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Eh, no problem.  I'll keep it updated as new recipes are posted in here.

[Oni]

Fry Youself up some bacon
Cut up an Onion
Cook up your Beef Paty.
Layer on Toasted Bun accordingly





Top Bun
Mustard
Bacon
Lettuce
Onion
Cheese
Cooked Meat
Katchup
Bottom Bum

Yep that simple