Perpetual What Are You Cooking Thread

[diablita]

interesting

[nadra24]

I made chili the other night.  I didn't really follow a recipe, just sauteed onion/garlic/red bell pepper together with ground beef, added a can of pinto beans, a can of tomato sauce, and a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes.  Then I added a couple of tablespoons of chili powder, a few shakes of cumin and oregano, S&P, and a dash of ground red pepper. Simmered it all together for about half an hour and served it over baked potatoes.  Kenyan had thirds, so I guess it turned out pretty well.  It probably could have used another can of beans.  I don't know why I think of chili as some involved recipe that takes forever, it was super easy. 

[Run Amok]

Alright, I made the tomato tart with a corn crust. I wasn't a huge fan of the crust. Might try it again soon with puff pastry.

[Ice Cream]

Dindin tonight, recipe from New York Times:


Israeli Couscous Salad

3/4 pound ripe, sweet tomatoes, finely chopped (about 1 1/3 cups chopped)
1 plump garlic clove, puréed with a little salt or put through a press
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (more to taste)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups cooked pinto beans (or other beans of your choice) (if using canned beans, drain and rinse)
2 cups cooked Israeli couscous
1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground pepper
Romaine lettuce leaves for serving
Feta cheese for topping (about 1/2 cup, optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine finely chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add beans and Israeli couscous and toss together. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes (or longer).

2. Meanwhile, place chopped onion in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Soak 5 minutes, drain and rinse. Drain on paper towels and add to couscous and bean mix.

[rocketgirl]

Does anyone have a favorite onion tart recipe?  I am making one tonight.  I had one in Strasbourg, France many years ago and it was phenomenal.

I have been looking at a bunch of recipes (none of which seem exactly right) and I think I have a pretty good idea of what I will do, but I am undecided on including cheese (Gruyere was suggested).  Some recipes don't include egg, but I plan to include egg.  Some recipes suggest brushing the crust with Dijon mustard, but there's a recipe that involves honey which sounds good.  I'll be using a store bought crust (but not the kind that comes in the pan already) and it those are less sweet than the kind that come in a pan - and I am a fan of sweeter crust.

Also, what's the difference between German thyme and regular thyme?  I have German thyme in my garden and was planning on using that.

[Run Amok]

Pissaladiere is a good one. I usually make it on puff pastry (the same way the tomato tart upthread is written). http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pissaladiere

[Run Amok]

I have broccoli rabe and ricotta in my fridge that need using. Anyone have anything magical they want to suggest?

Otherwise, I'm leaning towards pasta with carmelized onions & garlic, the broccoli rabe, some canelini beans, and pasta. I wish I had my own beans to toss in. I really need to get a freezer.

[cgraz]

That pasta idea sounds terrific. I was going to suggest pizza. I'm totally jonesing for pizza with ricotta on it. I love that.

[Run Amok]

It's one of my favorite meals.

I could also do it as a quiche. Or a tart (like that tomato tart).

But, yeah, pizza is a good suggestion. This is a serious undertaking but is *ridiculously* good: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/delfinas-broccoli-rabe-pizza-10000001955932/

This looks good too. I think it would be plenty meal-like with a nice arugala salad on the side. http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/broccoli-rabe-cannellini-bean-and-ricotta-crostini

[cgraz]

Wow, that sounds amazing. And, in a random note, my great-aunt's name was Delfina. I feel as if someday I should make that, because. She made amazing tortellinis. Sigh.

[Run Amok]

Yes, do & report back. I think it's worth the effort. The crust and topping is really stellar. It does turn out pretty wet. But, it's still fantastic.

[Kumbaya]

Does anyone have a favorite onion tart recipe?  I am making one tonight.  I had one in Strasbourg, France many years ago and it was phenomenal.

I have been looking at a bunch of recipes (none of which seem exactly right) and I think I have a pretty good idea of what I will do, but I am undecided on including cheese (Gruyere was suggested).  Some recipes don't include egg, but I plan to include egg.  Some recipes suggest brushing the crust with Dijon mustard, but there's a recipe that involves honey which sounds good.  I'll be using a store bought crust (but not the kind that comes in the pan already) and it those are less sweet than the kind that come in a pan - and I am a fan of sweeter crust.

Also, what's the difference between German thyme and regular thyme?  I have German thyme in my garden and was planning on using that.

If onion tart is the same things as onion quiche, google for Julia child's recipe.

[radial]

Yesterday I made a stew

That sounds good.  And I like your situational style of cooking.  How did it come out?

[Dagstag v 2.0]

That sounds good.  And I like your situational style of cooking.  How did it come out?

It was _delicious_! Very flavorful and the lamb was so tender. I'm going to make another one tomorrow, but with more veggies and either lamb or beef.

[rocketgirl]

I might have been drinking and looking at two different recipes on the iPad when making the onion tart.  I will have to post which recipe from home, how I intended to adapt it, etc.  I may try some shortcuts next time too (like maybe pre-cooked bacon because that took a LONG time and you need leftover bacon grease for the onions which also took a long time and pre-made pie crust that comes already in a pie tin so that we can skip the pre-baking thing.)  I dunno.

The final product was really really good though.  Good enough that even though it was a total pain in the ass, that we'd do it again.  Also I have a shit ton of leftover onions because the recipe assumes that onions are significantly smaller than what they sell at Target, so we used less than half of what we sliced.

[Run Amok]

You can certainly prep a lot of things for an intensive recipe. Or make it over two days. For example, you could cook the bacon & onions while you're cooking dinner another night, and just assemble your tart the next day.

It sounds like you were wanting something quiche like? This recipe is, hands down, the best quiche I've ever made. It gets the balance of custard and savory cheesiness just right. When you chose gruyere, go for a cave aged one-- way more flavor that way. I've used this as a basis for all kinds of things. I really like chard sauteed with carmelized onions, garlic, and herbs though (you could just do carmelized onions and bacon if you like).

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Madame-Quiches-Quiche-au-Fromage-15850

You can't really skip the pre-bake step on the crust. Even if it's pre-made in a tin. Also, most pre-made crusts are sweet. Which might not have the desired flavor. Just my 2 cents.

[rocketgirl]

There wasn't actually any egg in the recipe, but because of mistakes I made that couldn't be undone, I ended up adding an egg because I had too much liquid.  Which both things increased cooking time, which meant that the cheese formed a crust vs just being kind of melty.  I was happy with the Gruyere we bought though.  It was really tasty.  And I used thyme fresh from my garden.  The onion part involved wine, bacon grease, and honey - basically carmelizing them in the oven, so I am ok with sweet.  I do think that the premade crust that does not come in a tin is more flaky and less sweet than the one that comes in a tin.   I do find it hard to deal with two things that are supposed to be done in the oven when they are not done at the same temp. I only have one oven!

And really, I was hanging out with the guy and we were drinking wine and sharing the cooking duties (which is basically that he cut everything and I cooked everything unless I was doing two things at once and needed help).  We did have toasted french bread with habanero peach goat cheese, and some cheddar and crackers as a snack before we started cooking, so we didn't die of starvation or anything.  However, the time spent on the onion tart meant that we didn't much feel like making a salad too.  And painting pictures got moved to Saturday night.

I do love quiche though.  Quiche makes me happy. 

This recipe is the basis of what we did.  I did not use puff pastry because I hadn't worked with it before.  I forgot the nutmeg.  I used thyme sprigs.  I added Gruyere on top.  I used more bacon.  I substituted a mix of sour cream and heavy whipping creme for creme fraiche (plus other stuff that went in that by accident and necessitating adding an egg). I was absolutely delicious though.   http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/honey-roasted-onion-tart 

[Run Amok]

Try the puff pastry! It makes a great, flaky, savory crust. It's so easy and fast. You don't pre-cook it. You do have to plan ahead a bit to thaw. It's basically the same ingredients as pie dough, assembled differently. It really, really, simplifies the process. Just follow the directions and it'll come out fine. You score around the edge (but not all the way through) and the poke holes in the part you put the filling on. The part you didn't score/poke holes in puffs up to create a crust. Its' very impressive, tasty, pretty... and easy! (try the tomato tart up thread, you'd like it, I think)

[rocketgirl]

I will do a tomato tart again as soon as I collect enough tomatoes from the garden - not producing fast enough!  (Because heirloom or not, fresh tomatoes rock).

And I have to say, cooking is actually sort of fun doing with someone else.  And he used to work at a restaurant and he has WAY better knife skills than I do, so he cuts everything.  I HATE that part!  It's worse than doing dishes!

[Run Amok]

I love the idea of cooking with someone else. But, I'm kind of a control freak in the kitchen. I'm working on it.