Monthly Cooking Thread - April 2019

[Jamestown1630]

In recent years a lot of Peruvian Chicken restaurants have sprung up in my area. I haven’t eaten at one yet - whenever we’ve encountered one and thought to try it out, the places have always been very crowded with long waiting lines; but I wanted to know what the buzz was about.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite food websites – Dot2Trot’s 'Low Carb Living' site; and it looks fabulous. Most recipes I’ve seen for this don’t seem much different from Dot’s, so I think it is a more-or-less naturally low-carb recipe, and Dot says that she adapted hers from the book ‘Nom Nom Paleo’, by Michelle Tan. I'm thinking that the sauce really makes this dish, so don't leave it out! (Dot’s is a great site and YouTube channel for anyone interested in low-carb cooking):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTu05ShYjbo

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A little closer to our borders, in Cuba, we find the braised beef dish ‘Ropa Vieja’, which translates to ‘old clothes’, because the dish ends up looking like torn rags. My husband has made this several times, always wonderful, and Chef John’s of ‘Food Wishes’ is the recipe that we use. (My husband likes this especially for all of the different flavors that come together magically, with none really outstanding and drowning the others):

https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2019/03/ropa-vieja-cuban-beef-back-off-marie.html

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

I probably have. I’ve eaten a lot of caught fish on the Outer Banks, especially during Sept-Oct - a main bluefish run takes place there at that time. (And I actually LIKE fishy-tasting fish.)

A blog post with another bluefish recipe:

https://myfishingcapecod.com/caramelized-bluefish/

[Calvin Locke]

Blue Fish is a strong tasting fish. It has a really smelly line down the length of each side. Excising it helps, unless you go the acidic route overnight. I think the last time I had it, the hostess marinaded it in OJ and grape jelly.

They generally run in the mid July through August, at least in the Northeast, give or take.

The Blues will chase schools of smaller fish (pogies, aka menhaden, for example) into coves, and that results in the deathly depletion of O2 from crowding, killing the smaller fish.

Then, the rotting fish are quite capable of peeling paint off of nearby buildings.

[Fungi]

Thank you. Still will never find it for sale.

[Fungi]

“Probably?” You don’t know what you eat?

[Jamestown1630]

I love the Seafood Platter at Popeye’s. With coleslaw and a biscuit, it can do me two meals :-)

[Jamestown1630]

I’m an old lady, and I’ve been around a lot. If someone was surf-fishing, and grilled a fish up on a little hibachi, I ate and enjoyed it.

I do remember eating ‘dolphin’ on the Outer Banks. It freaked me out, until they told me that there’s a dolphin, and then a dolphin-Fish.

(I think you need to get out more, Fungi...)

[Flaming Conservative]

We love fish! I was ordering fresh fish (walleye) from the Ojibwa Indians in Red Lake Minnesota, but it’s $15/lb, and I found one of the local grocery stores flies in fresh, never frozen fish almost every week, sometimes only $9/lb, depending on the variety. Years ago, when you bought frozen fish in the supermarket, it was sold in little rectangular one pound packages, and when you thawed it out, the fish was nice and moist. But for the last 30 years or so, everything is marketed as “flash frozen” , as if it’s a superior quality. But when you thaw it out, it’s completely water logged, because, if course, it’s been soaked in water before being frozen, the result being pretty tasteless fish. If you blot out all the water, you’re left with a dry, rubbery texture. But that fresh fish, is just like velvet, even if I freeze it myself, after buying it. The taste is wonderful! We’re in flyover country, so we don’t have the luxury of fresh seafood every day, like people on the coast.
Have any of you ever bought the Italian or Mexican salt cod that you have to soak for 3 days? I’ve always wanted to try it. Does it taste anything like fresh?

[Flaming Conservative]

I’ve never eaten capers. How would you describe their flavor? I don’t care for bitter foods, and for some reason I’ve always thought they were bitter.

[Jamestown1630]

I don’t know how to describe them except for ‘resinous’.

To me, it’s sort of the taste you’d imagine from smelling pine tree. Wonderful addition to things/sauces with tomatoes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper

[Jamestown1630]

You reminded me of this: if you fry capers, they burst into pretty little flowers, and make a lovely garnish:

https://www.finecooking.com/article/fried-capers-an-addictive-garnish

[BunnySlippers]

I always wanted to have two capybaras. supposedly they make good pets but must supply lots of water sports.

[pugmama]

Thanks for the Peruvian chicken idea. It is quite popular here as well. We had a very good Cuban restaurant, but it closed recently.

I am a big fan of Fine Cooking’s Moveable Feast. These 3 recipes are winners. I did these for a recent dinner and we loved them all, especially the carrots. I served the cake with a bit of whipped cream.

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/grilled-carrots-with-honey-goat-cheese-spices

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/pork-chops-with-sugar-roasted-peaches-fennel-and-cheddar-grits

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/cornmeal-rosemary-cake-with-pine-nuts-orange-glaze

[pugmama]

Each year my brother brings me a dozen cold smoked pork chops from a farm in Quebec. When I get them, I grill them with the peaches and do the carrots all at the same time. I make an orzo salad with fresh tomatoes,herbs etc from the garden.
Not sure when our garden will be planted this year due to all the rain and really cold weather in my part of the world.

[Liz]

This is a nice versatile spicy sauce to have on hand. Serve over cooked chicken, vegetables....or serve on side as a dip.

Nashville Hot Sauce
Whisk in small saucepan tb ea cayenne, brown sugar, gar/pwder, tsp paprika, ½ c veg oil. Heat slowly.

[miss marmelstein]

Now that I’m ensconced in the Deep South, my eating habits have been forced to change somewhat. Collard greens, anyone? I can buy those, mustard greens and my beloved watercress which I could never find in NY or NJ.

Here’s an Alabama invention usually served in a pie crust. It must be related to Ambrosia and is occasionally referred to as Congealed Salad. I make it for my friend Wanda who has it at a restaurant called Martha’s Place. They call it Million Dollar Salad. I call it Pink Stuff:

1 can of strawberry or cherry pie filling
1 can of crushed pineapple or fruit cocktail, drained
1 small carton of whipped topping
1 small carton of sour cream
1/2 half of a small bag of unsweetened or sweetened coconut.
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of chopped pecans
Red vegetable dye.

Just mix it thoroughly until the red dye turns it pink. Yes, it is toothachingly sweet and should be eaten in very small doses, not devoured the way my friend Wanda does. It is also sold at my favorite soul food restaurant, two blocks from my house, called Martin’s. There, it goes by the name Paradise Salad.

[gattaca]

This looks really good.

[MomwithHope]

That sounds good, thanks! And guess who likes capers but doesn’t care for fish? Hubby!

[MomwithHope]

That sounds good, thanks! And guess who likes capers but doesn’t care for fish? Hubby!

[MomwithHope]

Have never tried the cod. Hubby will eat some salmon if fresh caught - I mean fish we would catch on a charter on Lake Michigan but we have only done that a few times. Costco has some good fish and really fresh. When we did a charter last summer Diana in Wisconsin gave me a good tip about freezing with our foodsaver in vac bags. She told me it would last 6 months and it did for 7. I was the one who ate it all winter. At 7 months the lake trout started to taste a little fishy. So yes fresh is best but a foodsaver helps if you are looking to freeze any.

[Liz]

So fruity...makes a nice Easter dish for breakfast...... or dessert.

Gingery Peach Melba
Filling: 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch 1 tsp finely chopped preserved or ground ginger 1/4 cup butter
2-10 oz pkg frozen peaches, drain and reserve syrup 10 oz pkg frozen red raspberries, drain and reserve syrup fresh blueberries option
Topping: cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp b/powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1/3 cup water

METHOD---Filling: Cook/stir/thicken over med, combined sugar, cornstarch, ginger, butter and reserved syrups.
Stir in fruit; pour into 8" baker, add spoonfuls of topping. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake topping golden.

Topping: combine flour, sugar, b/powder, salt. Cut in butter to fine particles. Add water; stir just til blended.

SERVE warm, plain or with pour cream. Add ice cream for a dessert.