COVID-19 Food Porn Thread

[Mikey]

Had burgers from the local burger joint ‘cause down in SLO for a case. Set up two tables in backyard and distance ate with my parents.
New World Order

Your parents must be real proud of a leftist punk like you

You should try and keep your political crap in the political threads. If you can.

[smackaholic]

I would probably pass on the hummus. Just don't like the flavor or texture much. I've eaten it many times. Just not a fan.

You've probably only had over processed crappy commercial product.

IMO there are a few fairly simple combinations of flavors / ingredients that, in combination, transcend their individual components by orders of magnitude. Many of them have a few things in common, like EVOO and garlic.

One of these combinations is chickpeas (garbanzos); tahini; EVOO; lemon juice (I always use Meyer lemons straight from the tree); garlic; salt to taste; a dash of cumin and/or cayenne (optional). Pureed to perfection, this is hummus. Some skip the tahini (sesame seed paste) but it's not the same without.

Another one is fresh basil; garlic; EVOO; (real) Parmesan and/or Romano; toasted pine nuts. Pesto, done right, is to die for.

I'll be making some hummus this weekend. Using dried chickpeas instead of canned for the first time. I'll post some pics if I remember.

I will try that sometime. 'cause I'm gay and stuff.

What 'chu tawkin' 'bout?

Straight dudes eat Humus too.

With a double IPA....8% or better alcohol.

[Kierland]

When I was a youngin SLO was the garbanzo bean capital of the world, at least that’s what they said. I have had them every which way including loose. Nowadays if they aren’t in hummus, I ain’t eating them.

[smackaholic]

Hummus and Falafel.

That pretty much covers what you should do with garbanzos.

[smackaholic]

One of these combinations is chickpeas (garbanzos); tahini; EVOO; lemon juice (I always use Meyer lemons straight from the tree); garlic; salt to taste; a dash of cumin and/or cayenne (optional). Pureed to perfection, this is hummus. Some skip the tahini (sesame seed paste) but it's not the same without.

Another one is fresh basil; garlic; EVOO; (real) Parmesan and/or Romano; toasted pine nuts. Pesto, done right, is to die for.

A mostly non-gay dude I know wants more information about how to make these taste treats. Like how much of each of the things you should buy/use, and how you should process them. The mostly non-gay dude’s wife is interested too.

You should update the line under your nic to "mostly non-gay".

I'd add....till someone gets the vino out.

[Kierland]

Hummus and Falafel.

That pretty much covers what you should do with garbanzos.

Oh yeah Falafel. Those are good too.

[smackaholic]

A falafel stand in Haifa Israel is the best 2AM drunk food ever made. I discovered this around 1987.

It dethroned the 7-11 microwave burrito.

[Innocent Bystander]

A falafel stand in Haifa Israel is the best 2AM drunk food ever made. I discovered this around 1987.

It dethroned the 7-11 microwave burrito.

wtf were you doing in Israel during the height of car bombings?

[smackaholic]

A falafel stand in Haifa Israel is the best 2AM drunk food ever made. I discovered this around 1987.

It dethroned the 7-11 microwave burrito.

wtf were you doing in Israel during the height of car bombings?

Navy.

Haifa was fine.

Non crazy people with automatic weapons everywhere is strangely calming.


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[EAP]

A falafel stand in Haifa Israel is the best 2AM drunk food ever made. I discovered this around 1987.

It dethroned the 7-11 microwave burrito.

wtf were you doing in Israel during the height of car bombings?

IB
Strangely enough, ISRAEL is very calming. Any muslim cockroach who tries anything remotely bad, will be terminated with extreme prejudice by automatic weapons.

Considering that these animals rape and kill children with zero remorse? What I just described is indeed moral and ethical.

Anyone who doesn't think so? You are in the same category as these child killers and rapists.

That's why the state of Israel is a very calming place.
The place of GOD.

I can picture Chuck Heston in full red flowing garments and long white flowing beard, coming down the mountain with two stone tablets recently etched by the ALMIGHTY HIMSELF.

[Mikey]

One of these combinations is chickpeas (garbanzos); tahini; EVOO; lemon juice (I always use Meyer lemons straight from the tree); garlic; salt to taste; a dash of cumin and/or cayenne (optional). Pureed to perfection, this is hummus. Some skip the tahini (sesame seed paste) but it's not the same without.

Another one is fresh basil; garlic; EVOO; (real) Parmesan and/or Romano; toasted pine nuts. Pesto, done right, is to die for.

A mostly non-gay dude I know wants more information about how to make these taste treats. Like how much of each of the things you should buy/use, and how you should process them. The mostly non-gay dude’s wife is interested too.

You should update the line under your nic to "mostly non-gay".

I'd add....till someone gets the vino out.

And I'm sure that Mrs. 88 will appreciate having this bit of information.

I'm planning on doing the hummus this weekend, so I'll provide the details then.

For the pesto...TBH I've found that there's one commercial brand that's close if not just as good as any that I can produce, and one helluva lot less work, especially if you have a local source.





You can often find some decent red wine there too, as well as lamb chops.

[Kierland]

88/EAP,
Cuba is calm like that.

Anyways tonight’s dinner is more bacon wrapped filets with side of fresh greens. After we make it we are putting it on the porch and the Mayor is picking it up and bringing it to a needy family in town. Then I’ll probably eat a bowl a cereal.

[Kierland]

For the pesto...TBH I've found that there is one commercial brand that's close if not just as good as any that I can produce, and one helluva lot less work.

Fresh is the best, but homemade frozen is better than canned.
Just keep the basil as you pinch it and freeze it in glass jar. Then when you have a shit ton, and it will be fast in SD, make it in bulk and freeze it. It’s a few things in a blender for two minutes. Almost as easy as boiling water. I like to freeze it in ice cube tray then transfer back to the glass container for easy use.

[Mikey]

Yeah, I don't mind making it and fresh is always best. And there are lots of possible variations on the basic recipe. But there is a certain amount of work to grating the cheese (you really need to start out with a solid block), toasting the pine nuts, peeling garlic, and cleaning up the food processor.

This version from Costco really is very good, reasonably priced, and they use imported Genovese basil (pesto came from Genoa) and other authentic ingredients. If you read some of the online reviews, you'll find a lot of people who say that they simply stopped making their own once they tried this version.

The only work involved, if you're shopping at Costso anyway, is pulling it off the shelf and unscrewing the top.

[Kierland]

Making a spoon full fresh for a bit on your eggs is way the fuck over the top, but I like to make it and there a ton of things I can’t make as good as canned (like pickles, I suck at pickling) so that’s what I do. The cheese is grated 356 in my house and garlic is all over the house too (oil2) so it’s really just the nuts I have deal with, anyways just my 2cents.

As far as Costco, too big for me. Only one I have been in is in Kauai for the cheap Mac nuts on the way back to the mainland. Back when that sort of thing was possible.

[smackaholic]

88/EAP,
Cuba is calm like that.

Anyways tonight’s dinner is more bacon wrapped filets with side of fresh greens. After we make it we are putting it on the porch and the Mayor is picking it up and bringing it to a needy family in town. Then I’ll probably eat a bowl a cereal.

If this is true, rack the hell out of you.

This is the sort of local level help that used to be the rule in this country. And it did a pretty good job.

Then FDR said don’t worry folks, The Great White Father will provide. And shit started going downhill.

My grandfather who remembers the country pre-FDR used to go in the occasional rant regarding this topic.

If he saw what we’ve been reduced to, cowering at home wondering when the check from Uncle Sugar gets here, he’d be sad.

As for Cuba and auto weapons, yes, the government thugs have them. But they aren’t for terrorists, they’re for Cuban citizens who might have the nerve to question the government.


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[Kierland]

The guns you saw were and are used way more than the ones I saw. Take from that what you will.

Yeah Mayor sent out a letter to all 5,000 of us with all the new #19 restrictions and whatnot. Had a number at the end. I called them and his secretary set it up. I’m bleeding heart remember?

[Innocent Bystander]

The guns you saw were and are used way more than the ones I saw. Take from that what you will.

Yeah Mayor sent out a letter to all 5,000 of us with all the new #19 restrictions and whatnot. Had a number at the end. I called them and his secretary set it up. I’m bleeding heart remember?

Thank you for giving. I'm conflicted

Which station's camera crew will be tagging along 6 feet behind??
and who are the vetted families?
Harry and Meghan were blasted for photo opping among the rich 'poors'. I guess Crenshaw was too poor.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

A falafel stand in Haifa Israel is the best 2AM drunk food ever made. I discovered this around 1987.

It dethroned the 7-11 microwave burrito.

wtf were you doing in Israel during the height of car bombings?

Navy.

Haifa was fine.

Non crazy people with automatic weapons everywhere is strangely calming.


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I was there at the same time (Dec '86-Jan '87) & the rest of the country, at least what I saw, was fine.

Lou Gossett jr was staying in our hotel in Haifa, he was filming one of the Iron Eagle movies, must have been the 2and one.

[Kierland]

I have rarely traveled to places that were as bad as people said they were. Done some crazy shit and absolutely got lucky, but still, outside of Baghdad and whatnot I have never hesitated to travel to “sketchy” places.

[smackaholic]

The guns you saw were and are used way more than the ones I saw. Take from that what you will.

Yeah Mayor sent out a letter to all 5,000 of us with all the new #19 restrictions and whatnot. Had a number at the end. I called them and his secretary set it up. I’m bleeding heart remember?

Rack you, you bleeding heart commie POS.

[smackaholic]

wtf were you doing in Israel during the height of car bombings?

Navy.

Haifa was fine.

Non crazy people with automatic weapons everywhere is strangely calming.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was there at the same time (Dec '86-Jan '87) & the rest of the country, at least what I saw, was fine.

Lou Gossett jr was staying in our hotel in Haifa, he was filming one of the Iron Eagle movies, must have been the 2and one.

What brought you to Haifa?

Just doing the obligatory Jew visiting the homeland deal?

[Dinsdale]

You put sugar on your fish before cooking? Sounds nasty.

Some people do.

I'm one of them. But nice job moving the goalposts.

You got called out for ignorance on cooking chemistry in regards to "caramelized," then posted a defense that... has nothing to do with caramelization.

I've probably smoked more fish than everyone on this board combined (if we exclude Derron). Your retort cements your lack of understanding -- fish is typically smoked at 160 degrees, give or take. Approximately 0.0000% of sugars become oxidized at that temperature, which is what caramelization is.

We can continue down this road, or... you could admit your mistake... which just isn't you.

Mailliard Reaction is what you were looking for. Similar effect, completely different chemically. Yes, Midge (correctly) brought up the nonenzymatic aspect -- but one is aerobic, one is anaerobic.

In short -- unless you slather it with sugar beforehand, meat doesn't "caramelize." Let's just go with "it browns," which flows off the tongue better than "it underwent the Mailliard Reaction!!!!"


You're welcome.

[Kierland]

I don’t know how much fish you have smoked, but it better be 1,000’s of lbs. or you probably haven’t smoked more than the board sans Duhron.

[Innocent Bystander]

You put sugar on your fish before cooking? Sounds nasty.

Some people do.

I'm one of them. But nice job moving the goalposts.

:?

Dude ....

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

What brought you to Haifa?

Just doing the obligatory Jew visiting the homeland deal?

My dad was at his company xmas party and they were looking for someone to go to Israel for their flight simulators as the guy who normally goes wasn't able to that year* so my dad volunteered to go.

We had been talking about a family vacation & this became our new destination.

We were in Haifa for a week, have family there that we got to hang with & then spent a week in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem visiting other family.

* So my dad leaves to go to some undisclosed locale around Haifa & is back at the hotel by lunchtime. Turns out, he finished all the work that was needed, some guy he worked with had been soaking everyone for a week of vacation in Israel for several years, for work which could be done in half a day. The good old days of defense contracts... wait, that hasn't really changed.

[Innocent Bystander]

Tale as old as time. What happened to the other guy, and was your dad invited to others, or were they pissed at him?

[Left Seater]

* So my dad leaves to go to some undisclosed locale around Haifa & is back at the hotel by lunchtime. Turns out, he finished all the work that was needed, some guy he worked with had been soaking everyone for a week of vacation in Israel for several years, for work which could be done in half a day. The good old days of defense contracts... wait, that hasn't really changed.

This is why we could cut spending across the board by 25% and not lose any readiness or efficiency.

Back in the day when I work for General Dynamics for a few years, I was shocked at the margins. GD would propose cost plus contracts for a 10 year effort. Congress wanted a firm fixed prices. So what do you do when you have no idea what your labor costs will be or your energy costs will be or your materials costs will be? You estimate a very high amount and put the risk on the government. This is how you get $500 hammers and a ton of waste at the tax payers expense.

[Mikey]

So here's the long awaited hummus PET

All the ingredients you need for incredible hummus:



I always used canned chickpeas in the past but I wanted to try starting out with the dried variety, since I have a huge pile of them in the pantry. You need to soak them before you cook them. There are slow and fast ways to do the soak but the most conventional is overnight (or at least four hours) in cold water. I actually soaked them for about six hours in some salted water. The first pic is 2 cups of dried chickpeas. The second is the same bowl after a six hour soak, and draining off the water







Put them in a large pot with enough water to cover them be a few inches. Add a few teaspoons of salt, some dried minced garlic and dried chopped onions (this is optional) bring to a boil for a few minutes, turn down to a very slow simmer and leave for two hours.




It's during this step that you add the Sculpin IPA. Not to the chickpeas but to the chef.


Here they are in the same bowl after cooking.




At this point the chickpeas are pretty soft and the cooking liquid is like a really tasty broth. Do not throw it out. I did all of this on Saturday and it was getting late so I decided to make the hummus the following day. You can refrigerate these for up to about a week and use anywhere you want them, or freeze indefinitely.

[Mikey]

To me, the most important part of making hummus is to get the ratio of chickpeas to tahini correct. Too little tahini and you get a product that lacks smoothness and richosity (richness?). The rest you can adjust to your own taste as you get close to end.

I actually pretty much follow this recipe when I make it. It uses 1/4 cup of tahini to 1 can or 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas:

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/15938/eas ... us-recipe/

I used to just dump everything into the food processor and blend it all at once, but this recipe has it done in several steps, claiming that if you blend the lemon juice and tahini first you get a creamier product. After trying this a few times I think I agree. This may seem like a lot of work but, seriously, the whole thing takes about 10 or 15 minutes total, once you have the chickpeas.

Anyway, I made a double recipe with 3 cups of my cooked chickpeas. I also use Meyer lemons from my tree, which are not quite as tart as your normal lemons, so I used a little more than 1/2 cup of lemon juice (three of my lemons). I also use a lot more EVOO. I add the prescribed amount a the beginning and then add at least as much as that at the end of the processing to thin it down a little.

Tahini and lemon juice in the processor, before spinning:





This is after adding the salt, EVOO, garlic (three large cloves) and cumin and then processing:





At this point I added three cups of the cooked chickpeas in two steps, including any of the liquid that came up with them when I scooped them out.
Processed for a couple of minutes until very smooth. Checked for flavor and added some more EVOO. I usually feel the need to add some salt or lemon juice, but this one came out pretty much perfect without any adjustment. Don't worry about adding the lemon juice and/or salt. You can't really over process it very easily.

I also added some more beer at this point.





Here's the finished product in the food processor:





If you want to make it look nice, put some in a nice serving dish, drizzle some EVOO over the top and sprinkle with some paprika.




By unanimous vote (Mrs. Mikey and me) this was the best hummus yet. I will continue soaking and cooking my own chickpeas over using the canned variety.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Looks awesome Mikey, I eat hummus almost every day with my veggies.

[Mikey]

I was going to grill some lamp chops for dinner, but Costco didn't have any of the chops, so I sprung for a couple of the racks, a la 88.

Instead of pre-cutting them I seasoned them and roasted in a hot grill, let them rest, and then cut them apart. They were underdone at first (my meat thermometer lied to me) so I had to put them back on for a few minutes but, eventually, they came out pretty good.





Here's the plate, which includes the lamb, a Caesar salad made from Tuscan kale, and a big scoop of the hummus. Not pictured is a couple of slices of crusty multi-train sourdough bread. And no, you don't necessarily have to use pita with hummus.





Consumed while watching the current episode of Homeland. We've been watching this show since it first started in 2011. It's usually amazing in how close it comes to real current events. Right now, it's getting pretty ridiculous though.

[Mikey]

Another great traditional side for lamb is tzatziki.
Basically Greek yogurt, cucumbers, dill, garlic, lemon juice and EVOO. Also good for dipping other stuff.

[Left Seater]

You got a good tzatziki recipe? Hook a brother up.

[Kierland]

Don’t let Dins see those chops or he will be bitching about how the extra bone is a scam or some such thing.

[Mikey]

I haven't made that for a while and I don't have a saved recipe. For something like this I usually just go to the interwebs and pick out the simplest one I can find to get the right proportions. That's usually the best bet.

Here's one that I would use:

https://cookieandkate.com/how-to-make-tzatziki/

[Mikey]

Don’t let Dins see those chops or he will be bitching about how the extra bone is a scam or some such thing.

I just hope I got it maillarded correctly.

[Kierland]

Dude it’s not maillared it’s Maillarded.

[Mikey]

It's really more important, while cooking, to be properly Moellered.

[smackaholic]

It's really more important, while cooking, to be properly Moellered.

It is essential to QC test any alcohol going into the meal. It's irresponsible to do anything else.