Post your kickass recipes here!

[IggytheBorg]

Suggested "gourmet" grilled cheese recipes:

The bread: Sliced batard.

The cheeses: 1. Pont Lavecque
2. Irish Cheddar (Vin got me jonesin').

Add ons: Boars Head hard salami & Virginia Ham

Nothing special to the prep; Batards tend to be thin loaves (1 1/2 baguettes, maybe). So this ended up being 5 canape sized sandwiches, w/ a single slice of cheese & meat to each. Ya gotta figure cheddar & ham, classic combo, right? So of course those were good. But the Pont Lavecque (a washed rind soft cheese, like a cross between young brie & Taleggio) was absolutely sublime, melted alone especially. But great with the meats as well. Trust your uncle Iggy on this.

[Martin]

Nice.

I do one with nut bread and aged cheddar. Ever tried?

[Shit Dickface]

Where do y'all get your quality cheeses? I'm having a tough time finding Stilton that doesn't have any fuckin' fruit in it.

[Martin]

Just don't let Ed fuck with it!

[IggytheBorg]

Where do y'all get your quality cheeses? I'm having a tough time finding Stilton that doesn't have any fuckin' fruit in it.

I typically get mine at Wegman's, which has a really great artisan/imported cheese shop. I don't think there's any stores anywhere bu the East Coast, though. Sorry. King's will do almost as nicely, and you can probably get some (albeit in a much smaller selection) at Trader Joe's. There's also a chain I've visited in SC (but that I've never seen anywhere else) called Lowe's, which is a lot like a King's. They've hooked me up on occasion.

There has been a groundswell of interest in artisan cheese in the last couple years, so it's possible you can find a decent artisan cheese section in any large, new supermarket. If there's any in your area you haven't already checked out, do a little recon.

And I feel your pain. I can almost never find Wensleydale - even at Wegman's - without currants or apricots in it.

[V]

Ig...

Plain old garden variety Wensleydale is at Whole Foods.

Go there. Buy it. Eat. Be well.

And Jake?

They have Stilton too. Plain.

[Martin]

Pad Thai (Authentic)

4 portions

Sauce:
-Tamarind paste (2-3 inches piece), or 4 Tbs white vinegar (try to find the tamarind, really)
-2-4 Tbs Fish sauce
-2 to 4 Tbs sugar, sugar cane preferably

-Half a package pf Chantabong rice noodles (thin flat rice noodles, 1/4 of an inch),
-a lime
-4 eggs, beaten
-1-2 challots or onions, thinly sliced.
-4-5 garlic cloves, chopped.
-Dark soy (for the color more than anything)
- 1-2-3 tps Sambal Olek, Sriracha, or other hot sauce, up to your taste
-2-3 cups Bean sprouts
-1/2 cup of Chinese chives or scallions
-1/2 cup Extra firm Tofu (optional)
-1-2 cups Shrimps, chicken, you name it; MEAT
-1/4 cup of crushed peanuts
-2 Tbs preserved turnips or cabbage (chinese-style) (optional)

It looks complicated, but it ain't . You just need to prepare, like any decent stir-fry, everything in advance. You can prepare the sauce at least a day in advance, and do more if you want, and freeze it.

Sauce:

Pour a cup or 2 of boiling water on the tamarind.let it rest of 10-15 minutes. After that, crush it with a fork, as the pulp will get loose. You can mush it with your hands. Put a sleeve on a sauce pan and pour the mix to extract the juice, and press the tamarind to extract everthing you can. This stuff makes kickass BBQ sauces too, so go ahead. Add the fish sauce and sugar, up to your taste. bring to a boil and let it reduce until it's thick. I hate watery sauce. Put Dark thick soy sauce with vinagar instead of tamarind if you can't find it, but you don't need to do a sauce, just pour on the stir fry as it cook.

Let cool or stand by.


Pad Thai: I'd say cook a 2 portions at a time, so split the cooking in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the wok.

Get the noodles soaked in hot water until soft yet firm (the cooking will take care of it after) and then drain. (15 minutes)

Heat a wok to very high heat.Add peanut or vegetable oil. Cook the meats quickly, and put aside. Do the same for the tofu. (can be done in advance)

Add the onions and garlic. Cook a bit, then add the turnips, tofu and meats. Add the noodles and stir quickly. Add the sauce and hot sauce, and mix. Put everything on the side and pour the eggs. Scramble it as it cooks, and then mix everything. Add the chives and sprouts. Add Dark Soy if you want it more dark. By then the noodles should be a tangled mess, hence cooked.

Serve and garnish with the peanuts.

Experience the orgasm.

[V]

I have recently been going through all of my mom's old recipe cards... and having to decipher her handwriting, because I'll be honest. Mom, bless her... liked her whiskey. But I have a few to share so far. More will be forthcoming.

Steak And Crushed Potatoes

For the steaks...

3 tbsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground, sieved, dust discarded
4 6oz fillet steaks, cut in half
4 tsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2oz butter
7oz fresh portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced

For the taters...

1lb new potatoes, scrubbed, boiled until tender
2oz butter
salt and freshly ground white pepper
3 tbsp chopped parsley

For the sauce...

2fl oz Scotch whiskey(or bourbon... I know we have Scotch haters here.)
2fl oz beef stock
2fl oz heavy cream

For the steaks, spread the coarse black pepper pieces over a small plate.

Coat all sides of the steaks with the Dijon mustard and then press them into the crushed peppercorns to coat.

Heat a large frying pan until very hot and add the olive oil. Season the steaks with salt, then add to the pan to cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn once to brown both sides (don't move the steaks around once they are in the pan or the peppercorn crust will fall off. You are shooting for a good crusty coating on each side.)

Add the butter and allow it melt and turn nut-brown in colour, but don't let it burn.

Add the mushrooms and stir in the butter. As the mushrooms start to absorb the pan juices, turn the steaks again and allow them to cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking.

Remove the steaks and place onto a baking tray and leave to rest in a warm place.

For the taters, place the potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and gently crush each potato with a fork until it just splits.

Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground white pepper, and add the parsley. Mix until all the butter has been absorbed, but don't over-mash the potatoes.

For the whiskey sauce, add the whiskey to the pan used to cook the steaks, and cook over a very high heat for one minute to boil off the alcohol. NOTE: If the whiskey catches fire, it's normal. Just put a lid on the pan, and you'll be golden.

Add the stock and boil to reduce the liquid volume, until thickened, then add the heavy cream.

Boil to reduce the liquid volume again, scraping and stirring to loosen the stuck bits from the bottom of the pan.

Pour any juices released by the resting steaks into the sauce and stir well.

Serve, then nom...

[Martin]

fl oz?

And that looks great Vin. And I'll post a non-authentic version of Pad Thai. One without Tamarin, and nearly as great.

[V]

fl oz?

Yep... fl oz.

As stated, Mom liked a wee dram now and again.

[Martin]

Fluid ounce I my guess...

[V]

Fluid ounce I my guess...

Yep... Two shots will do you. Sorry, I'm still trying to wake my sorry old ass up.

[I_Cassini]

I have a request for you all.
Since the weather is turning colder and I am currently eating some homemade vegetable beef soup my mom made- how about some simple recipes for soup or chili that are some of your favorites?

[Shit Dickface]

YES. I'll post my ground turkey breast stew later.

[Captain Russ]

Gonna need a tomato bisque ASAP