To Serve Man - It's a Cookbook!

[Vol]

Cooked burgers on the grill today. Went well. Bit overdone, slightly dry, because I couldn't gauge doneness as easily. Didn't develop the grate marks for some reason. Seems like the coals simply aren't burning hot enough, based on the timing I'm reading everywhere. I'm filling the chimney, burning 2 lighter cubes, and letting it sit 15-20 minutes until they're greyed over. Doesn't seem like I can stack them given the surface area needed. Do I need to build up a layer of older coals or what?

But the fat dripping down kicked up the smoke, and that flavor was fantastic. The other stuff I've done didn't render out quite as well. It was also 100 degrees out, and I was sitting in the sunlight reading Tai-pan, while drinking, so maybe my awareness of things was a touch off too.

@Sci: My dad briefly had a smoker he got secondhand for free. Said it worked well, but was way too much work. I imagine if you're not doing some very particular meats, like a brisket, the effort and cost must be a bit much.

[SciFlyBoy]

Umm, brisket (when I can afford it ((which has only once so far (((goddess I'm cheap))) )) ) took me about 18 hours. Started it at 5am and ended around 10pm. (ugh) I'll start it at 12am next time. However, because I have a wet smoker and it's designed to efficiently burn the coals and not get too hot (there's a big pan of water inside to keep it right above 200 degrees) that gives it a way to use regular charcoal and not have to refill for several hours. Watched a video where the dude used lump coal with brisket and didn't have to change or add it once. 12-18 hours of relaxation for him.

Pork Ribs are 3-4 hours on the smoker and there's as many different ways to make them as there are sauces to put on them (or reasons to NOT put sauce on them). There's wrapping involved sometimes, cooking for 2 hours then wrapping in foil and finishing them in the smoker. Starting them in a steamer then smoking, all sorts of ways. Pork ribs, because they're relatively thin are desired to be juicy and not bitter from too much exposure to the smoke, so people are picky about how to cook them. I personally stack them on their sides and smoke until they're done.

Big cuts of meat are easier as you mostly cook until done because you want to create bark. So when considering the cost to effort involved it depends on whether having the final product is worth it. For instance, a pork butt. They're usually under $20 for a decent size. You rub them then put them on with a nice wood, (apple, oak, maple) then several hours later you have this beautiful fall-apart piece of meat and it's not just pork fat good, it's smokey and has a texture on the outside you can't really replicate. Now imagine you have four of them because you saved up money and filled up your smoker. You'll have weeks if not months of smoked pork goodness to enjoy. That makes pretty much the same amount of work with four times the reward. Smoking is a lot like washing clothes, a full machine uses the same amount of water as a small load. You have all that smoke already in there working for you.

THEN, there are ways to smoke LOTS of things and you make a day of it. Put the pork butts on the bottom, then sausages on top. When the sausages are done take them out and put the ribs on top. All the nice drippings fall onto the pork and just up the flavor. So there are lots of ways you can use smokers and make it an event. In the end a well used tool brings you tremendous value. I sadly don't smoke as much as I'd like because I can't get myself to spend the money because I'm budgeted on the cheap stuff for now. Also I smoke a lot of salmon and that's done at a way lower temperature so I use a different device (a cardboard box).

I shouldn't cower anymore. I have this beautiful smoker and damnit I should use it more!

Anyway, when I use a regular grill I start with a full chimney too, then add fresh coals on top after I pour the hot grey ones into the grill. Grill marks...maybe wait longer after you poured the new coals on top to make sure it's really hot inside. I try adding some wood to mine because I did once and got a nice brown color to my burgers that I really desired. Could also be the size of your grates. If they're big enough to hold the heat and make a mark. Anyway I'm no grill expert, but good for you for cooking outside and not heating up the house.

[SciFlyBoy]

British Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Panackelty, anyone familiar with it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqWq7nJ8Ex8

Yeah, I hear a Winnie the Poo style accent there.

[Ragabul]

We just started buying milk in glass bottles from this (kinda) local diary that will let you exchange the glass bottles for a discount or to just have them refilled like Ye Olden Dayes. If you live close enough, you can even have milk delivered. Alas, we do not, but this is so much better! The milk is so much colder, has more cream left in it, and it's just aesthetically nice.

[SciFlyBoy]

My mom gave me a sourdough starter and....I don't know what to do with it. So I found this website that helps you with everything you need to know. Wow, I had no idea I could grow my own yeast.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ ... ugh/create

[Ragabul]

We got our hands on some kind of aperitif stuff called Byrrh, which is some kind of French spiced wine. As it turns out spiced wine of all kinds is great stuff (spiced mead especially). I must refrain from singing. It's also really good (and dangerous) when mixed with mezcal. It makes no sense that it makes me listen to bluegrass, but whatever, bluegrass it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8M-acAjdAA

[Vol]

Given how glad I am to be lactose tolerant, and I live in NJ, there thankfully are milk delivery services in my area. Bit pricey, since they're from local farms and have obvious overhead, but when times are better, I'd be all for that. 2 gallons a week, beautiful. I've been wanting to give the "raw" milk a try, as much as it sounds like hippy nonsense that'll give you an illness. But pasteurization is logically going to affect the milk, so a _thoroughly careful_ farm might be on to something.

@Sci: "Store this starter in the refrigerator, and feed it regularly; we recommend feeding it with 113g flour and 113g water once a week."

Not a sentence I'd expect from a recipe. How's it turning out?

[SciFlyBoy]

@Sci: "Store this starter in the refrigerator, and feed it regularly; we recommend feeding it with 113g flour and 113g water once a week."

Not a sentence I'd expect from a recipe. How's it turning out?

It's sitting there, looking at me. But there are bubbles forming so it's alive. It's professional level bread making, not what I'm used to.

[Vol]

It's sitting there, looking at me. But there are bubbles forming so it's alive. It's professional level bread making, not what I'm used to.

If it starts questioning its existence or demanding rights, bake it immediately. I've heard of bakeries in Italy that supposedly have used the same mother yeast for a century. Bit of a Ship of Theseus question there, but much better than a place in America that's supposed to have used the same cooking oil for a century.

[SciFlyBoy]

If it starts questioning its existence or demanding rights, bake it immediately. I've heard of bakeries in Italy that supposedly have used the same mother yeast for a century. Bit of a Ship of Theseus question there, but much better than a place in America that's supposed to have used the same cooking oil for a century.

Talking to my mentor who is Danish, nothing in America is considered old. But I have heard of some old burger joints or diners that always save some oil from the previous day to add to the current.

[Vol]

Maybe one of guys can help me identify what I just ate. Leftovers from my relatives' Thanksgiving: Dessert-like, possibly egg based, butter, vanilla & cinnamon, not too sweet, light fluffy texture, no discernable shape, little bits of what I assume are crust, light yellow. Somewhere between a firm pudding and a mushy sponge cake.

[SciFlyBoy]

Maybe one of guys can help me identify what I just ate. Leftovers from my relatives' Thanksgiving: Dessert-like, possibly egg based, butter, vanilla & cinnamon, not too sweet, light fluffy texture, no discernable shape, little bits of what I assume are crust, light yellow. Somewhere between a firm pudding and a mushy sponge cake.

Most likely a bread pudding. Congrats, that rare where I'm from. Do you have relative with Southern roots?

[Vol]

It was mushier than the pictures I'm looking at, though time and reheating may have broken it down. There was a vague taste of French toast, so that's probably correct. And nope! No culinary heritage whatsoever, as far as I'm aware. Paternal side was boiled meat and potatoes, maternal side was basic American cuisine. This assumed bread pudding was made by an aunt of mine, who's a decent cook.

[Ragabul]

I just ordered some yaupon holly tea. This is a locally occurring plant that I always got told growing up "the Indians cured headaches with this" and always wanted to try but never got around to doing. Obviously ordering some tea is a lot easier than trying to track down random wild bushes and dry the leaves myself. Looks promising.

[Vol]

Every once in a while, I'll tell myself I need to start primarily drinking tea. I have a good stock of flavored tea, green tea, black tea, and for a day, I make a good effort. Then the need for a strong cuppa cawfee hits.

[SciFlyBoy]

I have to keep reminding myself to offer tea when someone comes over. It just...wasn't part of my upbringing.

[Vol]

I've heard that it's fairly common for international students to come here and be baffled by the lack of hospitality. No inviting people over for dinner, or bending over backwards to offer food/drinks when visiting their home.

But yeah, coffee, water, tea if you have it. I go into a lot of homes, and the owner almost always offers them.

[Mazder]

I've heard that it's fairly common for international students to come here and be baffled by the lack of hospitality. No inviting people over for dinner, or bending over backwards to offer food/drinks when visiting their home.

But yeah, coffee, water, tea if you have it. I go into a lot of homes, and the owner almost always offers them.

Also, to be fair, you're a workman at the time.
Polite to offer workmen tea/coffee.

Also, might be the Britishness in me but, yeah, it's weirder you don't invite someone into your home and offer a warm drink, or at least something. Like, you want then to be comfy and welcome, so why wouldn't you?
What are you going to wait for them to ask and then make them wrestle with the decision of if it's polite to do so?!?!

[Vol]

Also, to be fair, you're a workman at the time.
Polite to offer workmen tea/coffee.

Also, might be the Britishness in me but, yeah, it's weirder you don't invite someone into your home and offer a warm drink, or at least something. Like, you want then to be comfy and welcome, so why wouldn't you?
What are you going to wait for them to ask and then make them wrestle with the decision of if it's polite to do so?!?!

Of course, and nearly all do. Not that I'd punish them if they didn't. But it improves my morale, and if they offer to buy lunch, I'll go the extra mile on the job, heh. Clearly the British spirit lives on in the colonies!

How you guys doing on food prices? Been steadily rising all around, though meat's been hit the hardest. Fallen back on eating mainly ramen for lunch, a decent spicy seafood udon, Neoguri, or the classic chicken. Need to make anything fresh stretch way further, so probably need to whip up another pot of chili. For the price, I get 4 hearty meals, and could stretch that to 6 filling ones. Butter doubled for some reason too, though milk is steady.

[SciFlyBoy]

Also, might be the Britishness in me but, yeah, it's weirder you don't invite someone into your home and offer a warm drink, or at least something. Like, you want then to be comfy and welcome, so why wouldn't you?
What are you going to wait for them to ask and then make them wrestle with the decision of if it's polite to do so?!?!

I think part of that, at least where I live in Los Angeles, is that most people might come over for a few minutes, but you want them gone after that. The other side of that is knocking on someone's door. It opens, they pop out their head, "What do you want? Give me a minute," then they come back and it's over and they close the door. I'm in my home and I don't want to be disturbed. I'm sure there's some sociological reason for that; we don't trust people, or it's a waste of time, or I don't care, or it's only for a minute so why bother.

Anyway Maz, do you have any traditional British holiday food?

[Mazder]

Of course, and nearly all do. Not that I'd punish them if they didn't. But it improves my morale, and if they offer to buy lunch, I'll go the extra mile on the job, heh. Clearly the British spirit lives on in the colonies!

How you guys doing on food prices? Been steadily rising all around, though meat's been hit the hardest. Fallen back on eating mainly ramen for lunch, a decent spicy seafood udon, Neoguri, or the classic chicken. Need to make anything fresh stretch way further, so probably need to whip up another pot of chili. For the price, I get 4 hearty meals, and could stretch that to 6 filling ones. Butter doubled for some reason too, though milk is steady.

Yeah, stuff's been getting more expensive.
But that happens when you push all the "low skill workers" out of your nation through a stupid political posturing venture.

Butter is probably due to workers rather than availability.

I think part of that, at least where I live in Los Angeles, is that most people might come over for a few minutes, but you want them gone after that. The other side of that is knocking on someone's door. It opens, they pop out their head, "What do you want? Give me a minute," then they come back and it's over and they close the door. I'm in my home and I don't want to be disturbed. I'm sure there's some sociological reason for that; we don't trust people, or it's a waste of time, or I don't care, or it's only for a minute so why bother.

Anyway Maz, do you have any traditional British holiday food?

I mean for the Christmas period it's the usual roast christmas dinner, usually Turkey and Pork.
Roast potatoes, carrots, spring green/cabbage, peas, roast parsnip, the meats, batter puddings, leek (if wanted), stuffing and of course lots of good gravy.
New Years is usually Beef and Lamb.

In terms of other stuff we usually get loads of cheeses, crackers and other meats in. We usually have a joint of boiled Gammon and use it for cold cut meals. Pickles and cheeses and meats. Piccalilli if you want.

Kinda just typical boring British Christmas
But it's MINE.

[Deano]

I mean for the Christmas period it's the usual roast christmas dinner, usually Turkey and Pork.
Roast potatoes, carrots, spring green/cabbage, peas, roast parsnip, the meats, batter puddings, leek (if wanted), stuffing and of course lots of good gravy.
New Years is usually Beef and Lamb.

In terms of other stuff we usually get loads of cheeses, crackers and other meats in. We usually have a joint of boiled Gammon and use it for cold cut meals. Pickles and cheeses and meats. Piccalilli if you want.

Kinda just typical boring British Christmas
But it's MINE.

Not SPECIFICALLY mentioning pigs in blankets, get outtta here.

[Mazder]

Not SPECIFICALLY mentioning pigs in blankets, get outtta here.

Well they're more a snack.
Plus, we don't really do them as it's just the two of us and getting a turkey crown and joint of pork roasted is enough for our small oven, lol.

[SciFlyBoy]

I definitely don't put enough pickles on the table. Your spread looks really nice.

Ours currently is a smoked salmon with crackers and olives, cuts of hard sausages and cheeses and any homemade cookies. Dinner this year is a duck.

[Mazder]

I definitely don't put enough pickles on the table. Your spread looks really nice.

Ours currently is a smoked salmon with crackers and olives, cuts of hard sausages and cheeses and any homemade cookies. Dinner this year is a duck.

Oh this aint a spread. It's usually what goes on the plate.
Except the pickles and cold meats and stuff, that's for like "boxing day can't be fucked to cook because we're still kinda full form yesterday" type of thing, lol.

Usually the weeks from Christmas to about my birthday (7th Jan) there is no shortage of meat sandwhiches.

Lucky I am a carnivore.

But this will be the first Christmas cooking dinner in an Electric oven so...we'll see, lol.

The cooker would pack in a week before Christmas.

[SciFlyBoy]

Got myself some salmon, swordfish and some sausages that I'm smoking for the holidays on Saturday. That's a lot of s's. The sausages are little chorizo sausages from the grocery store and some sweet italians from the local butcher. More s's!!!! If that's not enough to fil my smoker then I'll head to Costco to buy a bag of breakfast sausages as those are always a nice addition to the smoker. As always I'm using apple wood. I'll smoke them for 3 to 4 hours and finish them off in my oven.

[Vol]

Second attempt at sirloin steaks. Came out beautifully again, so I assume these things are foolproof. Aimed for medium-rare for mine, came out closer to rare. Every cooking video I watched said, "get your cast iron _screaming hot_," which I took to mean "high and smoking," and I settled for medium-high, yet still had a lovely sear with the insides borderline rare. Not complaining, but heat and timing seems guesswork more often than not.

[SciFlyBoy]

I've seen 'people' do a strict steak for 5 mins then flip for 7 mins and swear by it and on the other side I know one guy 'a cooking guy...' who moves his steak all around and they both end up with results they like. I'm glad your steak is coming out well. My steaks....suck. I suck at steaks and burgers in general. I'm just...dumb at it. I get the pan right, I get the steak prep/burger prep right, the seasonings right, I cook it right and I end up with meh.

That's until I ate something called 'beef tips' at a steak house. It's essentially bits of steaks, small bite sized pieces, quickly cooked up in a pan then they make a creamy mushroom gravy and add the bits back in and serve it that way. I'm great at gravy so that's going to be my steak goal for the future. I'll let you know my attempt when I come around to it.

[Mazder]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI9_wnlOx0Q&ab_channel=LetterkennyProblems

[Ragabul]

My dad gave me this terrifying old electric indoor grill he had which they don't seem to make anymore. All the ones I see anymore are like more griddle style. This one is like a barbecue grill over the top of a naked coil and has no lid. You have to keep it really clean or it's prone to grease fires. But it makes seriously great grilled anything for cooking reasons I don't understand. The only mechanism that seems to top it is flat out flame grilling stuff.

Oh and Dale's Steak Marinade. It would make a pair of grilled boots taste good.

[SciFlyBoy]

On the topic of grilling, my mom made meatloaf YEARS ago once on the charcoal grill and I still can't stop talking about it.

[Vol]

I've seen 'people' do a strict steak for 5 mins then flip for 7 mins and swear by it and on the other side I know one guy 'a cooking guy...' who moves his steak all around and they both end up with results they like. I'm glad your steak is coming out well. My steaks....suck. I suck at steaks and burgers in general. I'm just...dumb at it. I get the pan right, I get the steak prep/burger prep right, the seasonings right, I cook it right and I end up with meh.

Weirdly enough, we're exact opposites then. I don't do adequate prep (marinade), and I struggle with getting seasoning right, but I have a knack for eyeballing the correct internal temperature.

My dad gave me this terrifying old electric indoor grill he had which they don't seem to make anymore. All the ones I see anymore are like more griddle style. This one is like a barbecue grill over the top of a naked coil and has no lid. You have to keep it really clean or it's prone to grease fires. But it makes seriously great grilled anything for cooking reasons I don't understand. The only mechanism that seems to top it is flat out flame grilling stuff.

Oh and Dale's Steak Marinade. It would make a pair of grilled boots taste good.

I've seen some of those older cooking appliances, and "exposed heating/electrical elements" is a common theme. But for the danger, they _do_ work super well. I blame lawyers. "Prone to grease fires" is a bit of a problem, granted.

On the topic of grilling, my mom made meatloaf YEARS ago once on the charcoal grill and I still can't stop talking about it.

Ooooh. My mom's meatloaf (and knockoff scalloped potatoes) are a comfort food for me. Having it over charcoal is giving me ideas...

Unrelated, gonna make a basic bitch bread tomorrow. Got a recipe I'm fairly sure I can't cock up.

3/4 cup warm water
1 packet of yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp fat
3 cups flour

Proof yeast, mix in salt, sugar, milk
Mix in oil and 2 cups flour
Add flour, 1 tbsp at a time, until dough chases the mixer
Knead on floured board for 10 minutes, until soft and smooth
Put in greased bowl, turn over, cover, leave in oven with light on for 1 hour
Punch down, knead 5 more minutes
Form loaf, set in greased pan
Cover again, leave in oven with light on for 30 minutes
Preheat to 375, score dough
Bake 40 minutes, cool on towel

Seems simple enough. Fingers crossed!

[SciFlyBoy]

Unrelated, gonna make a basic bitch bread tomorrow. Got a recipe I'm fairly sure I can't cock up.

3/4 cup warm water
1 packet of yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp fat
3 cups flour

Proof yeast, mix in salt, sugar, milk
Mix in oil and 2 cups flour
Add flour, 1 tbsp at a time, until dough chases the mixer
Knead on floured board for 10 minutes, until soft and smooth
Put in greased bowl, turn over, cover, leave in oven with light on for 1 hour
Punch down, knead 5 more minutes
Form loaf, set in greased pan
Cover again, leave in oven with light on for 30 minutes
Preheat to 375, score dough
Bake 40 minutes, cool on towel

Seems simple enough. Fingers crossed!

That's basic alright. The thing about letting it raise is it's not about time, but volume. You want the dough to double in size. Directions may say leave in oven or sit out for x amount of time, but depending on the moisture in your air, the age of the yeast or hardness of your water, it'll vary. So you got to keep an eye on it and watch for the size to grow doubled. If it's short because it's a warm day, hey you get your bread faster. If not, then you might be waiting for a while for it to increase right. I've been baking for a long while now and I still have a hard time on that first rise. I've even turned the dryer on for a few minutes and put my dough in THAT to try to raise it.

Good luck, take pictures.

[Vol]

Yeah, fucked up the yeast. Couldn't proof the yeast, a combination of the kitchen being too cold, the water not warm enough, and adding the salt with the sugar. Tried warming it up over very low heat, and it sort perked up, but not increasing in size. Dough needed far more flour than the recipe said, 2 cups gave me an incredibly stick mess, 3 cups the same, must've been up to 5 or more from the extra I was adding to get the "smooth, soft" consistency with kneading. Left it in the oven, with the light on, to attempt to rise, didn't do much after an hour. Boiled a cup of water and put it in the microwave with the dough, to see if the humid heat would help, for another hour. Got a very slight amount of rising.

I concluded I had basically unleavened dough, so I took ball sized lumps and rolled them out, then made a flatbread in my skillet. There was a little bit of bubbling, so I assume the yeast was slightly active. Tastes good though, so my first try at bread is a partial success anyway. And knowing how I fucked up the yeast was very instructive. Not sure why the dough needed _so much more_ flour though.

[Mazder]

I have literally kilograms of yeast in my frige. If shipping weren't so damned expensive at the moment I'd send you a pack so you aint gotta bother with the activation bollocks and just bung it in while avoiding it's contact with salt.

[Vol]

Alas, but for the pond between us. You and your family do a ton of baking then?

[SciFlyBoy]

@Vol, Bread making is a profession. And koodos for making something else with the disaster.

Where did you find that recipe? Basic bitch bread is also known as French Bread.

Warm water should be 105-110 degrees. If you have a probe thermometer then run the hot water in your sink until it reaches about 100 degrees then fill up your measuring cup to the desired amount. The time it takes to fill will bring the temp up some degrees. Add the sugar and proof the yeast for...eh...10 to 15 mins. Sugar and flour are yeast food, so you'll be giving the yeast a feast. It gets bubbly and smells interesting.

When you add all the other ingredients you just mix and mix until the dough leaves the side of the bowl. I don't have a stand mixer so I have to do it all by hand, but it takes a long while. You're making gluten. It's going to form a huge mass on your spoon or dough hook and it will be STICKY!!!!!

So this point you have quite a bit of flour on your kneading surface and put your dough mass on that and you'll need plenty of flour more. Dust the top and start to knead and you'll be dusting here and there to get rid of the stickiness. Once the dough stops sticking to your board you'll not be needing much more flour, but you'll be kneading and kneading until you have great triceps and delts bulging on your arm. When it's a nice smooth ball THAT's when it goes in the bowl to rise.

Best temps to rise are ~80 degrees-ish. If you have a warm spot in your house, put it there. If the garage is warm, put it there. The oven light creates heat so that's why some people put it in there.

Then it's rise, halving and placing in cooking medium (sheet or bread pan) to rise once more and bake.

It's basic because there are different techniques that change depending on the bread. Some real rustic bread gets water sprayed on it after halfway cooked to make the crust extra crispy. Lots of breads put seeds or nuts on after the first rise. Some form round loafs for the second rise, long skinny loafs, all sorts of shapes and sizes. But they all follow this same, basic formula.

Now I want to bake.

[Mazder]

Alas, but for the pond between us. You and your family do a ton of baking then?

I make pizza dough every friday.
Not healthy but better for me than storebought.

[Vol]

Where did you find that recipe? Basic bitch bread is also known as French Bread.

Random site that had a simple white bread recipe, didn't consider anything other than a basic loaf.

Warm water should be 105-110 degrees. If you have a probe thermometer then run the hot water in your sink until it reaches about 100 degrees then fill up your measuring cup to the desired amount. The time it takes to fill will bring the temp up some degrees. Add the sugar and proof the yeast for...eh...10 to 15 mins. Sugar and flour are yeast food, so you'll be giving the yeast a feast. It gets bubbly and smells interesting.

When you add all the other ingredients you just mix and mix until the dough leaves the side of the bowl. I don't have a stand mixer so I have to do it all by hand, but it takes a long while. You're making gluten. It's going to form a huge mass on your spoon or dough hook and it will be STICKY!!!!!

So this point you have quite a bit of flour on your kneading surface and put your dough mass on that and you'll need plenty of flour more. Dust the top and start to knead and you'll be dusting here and there to get rid of the stickiness. Once the dough stops sticking to your board you'll not be needing much more flour, but you'll be kneading and kneading until you have great triceps and delts bulging on your arm. When it's a nice smooth ball THAT's when it goes in the bowl to rise.

I was too lazy to dig out my meat thermometer, so I tried to estimate by getting the water hot enough to be slightly painful to touch, which I figured would be around 100-110. But I think the bigger mistake was mixing the salt and sugar as I was measuring, since that's how I normally do spices for meatballs and stuff. Reading up after, salt retards yeast growth, I was supposed to add it after it proofed. Probably needed to leave it in the microwave to preserve temperature too.

Sounds like I wasn't too far off on the dough then. I had the board and my hands floured, but it was so sticky my fingers became so thick with stuck dough I physically couldn't knead or reach for more flour to dust. So I probably needed a bit more flour and time in the bowl. Once I washed off the clumps stuck to my hands, it started to come together into something workable, with lots and lots of flour dustings.

Thanks for the wisdom! Once I finish eating the flatbread, I'll give it another try, and then start experimenting if I do it right. I'm a big fundamentals sort of guy.

I make pizza dough every friday.
Not healthy but better for me than storebought.

Eh, if you're gonna eat a pizza regardless, it's a net benefit, since you're doing some labor too. Still, it's a cool thing to do. I've seen guys doing the whole home pizza thing, NYC style, and the results are fiddly, but look delicious.

[Mazder]

Eh, if you're gonna eat a pizza regardless, it's a net benefit, since you're doing some labor too. Still, it's a cool thing to do. I've seen guys doing the whole home pizza thing, NYC style, and the results are fiddly, but look delicious.

Well I do knead by hand so I guess that's a couple of calories burned, lol.

[SciFlyBoy]

Burning calories making bread, that's a real thing. I was inspired to make some yesterday and I did a Rye loaf from a Betty Crocker recipe. I let that thing rise for 3 hours until I HAD to continue because I was loosing time. Even doubled the time for the 2nd rise. They did eventually puff out a little, not enough to be standard sandwich slices, but I got some nice, dense dark rye bread out of it. This one was a 'throw together' recipe, so I didn't have to proof the yeast, but perhaps I should next time. Experiment then write down the results so you know where to try it differently next time.

@Maz, how do you cook your pizza? On a stone, or sheet, or iron skillet, or do you shape the dough, freeze it then put your toppings on and put it directly on the oven rack?

Personally I shape mine on parchment paper and slide it with the paper directly on a stone. So easy to transport and clean up that way. It just slides on and off the peel with no hassle. It's the one best technique I came up with.

[Mazder]

@Maz, how do you cook your pizza? On a stone, or sheet, or iron skillet, or do you shape the dough, freeze it then put your toppings on and put it directly on the oven rack?

Personally I shape mine on parchment paper and slide it with the paper directly on a stone. So easy to transport and clean up that way. It just slides on and off the peel with no hassle. It's the one best technique I came up with.

Fresh dough, on pizza sheet.
Don't have a pizza stone.

[Vol]

Made some slow cooker chili, was in the mood again. My laziness in checking the pantry bit me in the ass, as I thought I had 2 cans of chopped tomato with habanero, but instead had 2 cans of pinto beans. Grocery store sadly didn't have jalapenos or kidney beans in stock, so I made do with some red chili pepper that was supposed to be "just as good," because I didn't have the balls to go for habaneros. You may point and laugh at me.

Ended up with 2 cans of pinto and 1 can of black beans. Did a bunch of garlic, still couldn't taste it, so next batch I'm gonna chop garlic until I can't stand to do it anymore. Think I should get a proper knife, because even running it through the sharpener, wasn't getting a great chop. The red peppers were on their last legs too.

But it all worked out well enough in the end. Missing a certain richness, and only had 2 portions of leftovers instead of the usual 3 somehow, but maybe letting them sit will help the flavors. And no heat. Think I'll try habanero next time.

[SciFlyBoy]

I'm looking at making chili too. Saw a video on sprouting your pinto beans before hand (lowers the gas making and takes better, apparently) so I'll check out your recipe.

[Vol]

For whatever reason, despite using the same amount of ingredients as last time, ended up with only 3 portions instead of 4. But the I've eaten the second, and the flavors were much improved over the first. No heat tho. So definitely will try 1 or 2 habaneros in the mix next time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWQOpC5f9OU

This is a mix of annoying spectacle (the train) and really good looking food. I like the concept of a boiling soup you dip your meats into to flash cook them. God help you if you don't know how to do all this already tho.

[SciFlyBoy]

It's like the soup version of a korean/japanese bbq joint, where you cook your own meat. Oh! have you ever been to a fondue restaurant?

[Vol]

Haven't been to any of those places, oddly enough! Been to one Japanese restaurant, as a last get together of my college's Japanese course students before we all went elsewhere. Was quite nice, I can't for the life of me remember anything I ate or was served.

I didn't know fondue restaurants existed, in fact. But every since I was a wee tiny Vol, always found the concept really fun and wanted to try it. But fondue parties seem to have fallen out of style with my parent's generation, sadly. Communal cheese dipping needs to come back.

[SciFlyBoy]

Basically fondue is cheese melted with beer, I'm sure. Here's Alton Brown's site for it.

https://altonbrown.com/recipes/fondue-finally-reloaded/

[Vol]

Wine, brandy, lemon juice, 2 cheese I've never heard of, horseradish...I would have never guessed that was the cheese sauce. I assumed it was like a béchamel.

[Vol]

Made a simple Japanese curry today. Box of bullion (very mild, so my grandma could eat it), ground beef, carrots, potato, onion. Stir fry for a few minutes, then simmer for 20. Came out pretty good. Needed to cut the potato smaller, I did eighths, but it tasted entirely fine over white rice. For a cheap box of bullion, it's not a bad meal, and cheap.