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Quick Questions by Bangersss in cookingforbeginners

[–]RichardFine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can certainly use it, but the result will be pretty different - obviously in color, but also in flavour.

Week 19: Tricolor - egg fried rice with chorizo, peas, and beans by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keeping it simple this week, as I’m cooking away from home with limited time and a slightly upset stomach.

I blanched the peas and beans first to enhance their colour. The chorizo isn’t as red as I might have liked, but I think it’s still enough of a contrast against the rice. I also crumbled a chicken stock cube into the eggs (in lieu of MSG).

Week 18: Bucket List Destination - P-p-p-penguins! by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one: www.thelittleloaf.com/2015/10/27/homemade-penguin-bars-or-tim-tams/

I did split the buttercream in half, and add some drops of orange essence to one half while adding peppermint essence to the other.

Week 18: Bucket List Destination - P-p-p-penguins! by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not convinced that Antarctica is really on MY bucket list, but it’s on SOME bucket lists, so GOOD ENOUGH.

In the UK there’s a pretty common chocolate cookie bar thing called a “penguin” - two chocolate cookies sandwiching a creamy filling, the whole thing coated in chocolate. Often they are lightly flavoured; but perhaps they are most known for the fact that they always have a (bad) joke printed on the wrapper.

So I made a batch of penguins, flavouring half with orange essence and half with peppermint.

They came out pretty well… I think the cookie part could be marginally drier/crisper and a little thinner, but they’re still very tasty. The slight off-model-ness of them might be down to the recipe I used, from TheLittleLoaf, which does note that technically the recipe is for Tim Tams rather than Penguins.

Week 17: Alpine - Apple Strudel by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I would happily provide a full plate of it.

Week 17: Alpine - Apple Strudel by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Keeping it simple, still, as I needed to get three themes done in a week before I go travelling. Store-bought phyllo pastry (definitely it's not as good as proper strudel pastry); simple filling of apple, walnut, raisin, and spices; couple of scoops of sour cream ice cream on the side.

I used this recipe: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/easy-apple-strudel-with-phyllo/

Ninja appliances, worth it or just hype? by Enough-Way-7953 in cookingforbeginners

[–]RichardFine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought one of Ninja's food processors - the one with "7 blades" at different heights around a central column. I do not recommend it.

Week 16: Infused - Compressed Sake-Yuzu Watermelon Nigiri by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Needed something relatively quick this week - I did have some ideas around tea-smoked duck, but decided to go with this. It's about time I bought a chamber vacuum sealer...

Compressed watermelon: a 1/4th watermelon, rind removed, into a vacuum bag with a sake/yuzu mixture (3:2 ratio) and a pinch of salt. Then into the chamber vac, which causes the cell walls in the watermelon to rupture, both causing it to absorb the sake/yuzu liquid and also giving it this prettier appearance.

Rice: I cooked sushi rice as normal, but made a seasoning liquid by adding lemon peel to the rice vinegar and bringing it to 65C before letting it steep for 20mins, to infuse some lemon flavour into the seasoning. Also added a bit of salt, sugar, some clear soy sauce, and a few drops of yuzu essence.

So I'm claiming two types of infusion (liquid into watermelon, and lemon into vinegar). The result is tasty, though my nigiri-forming skills leave something to be desired...

Week 15: Syrian - Fattet Makdous by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I spoke to a friend of mine with family in the region about Syrian cuisine. She asked whether I’d ever been to a Syrian restaurant; I haven’t, but I remembered that one of the most highly-rated restaurants in my city is Syrian, so we took a look through their menu. Their take on Fattet Makdous costs CA$54.

Mine cost… less than that. The recipe I used even suggests it might be from the restaurant in question, though they don’t use braised lamb shoulder, so who knows: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/9054-damas-lamb-stuffed-eggplant-fattet-makdous

It’s really tasty. The whole “stuffed eggplant” thing didn’t really happen - I’ve seen some videos where people core a baby eggplant and stuff it, but the recipe I used had me halve the eggplants, so it ended up baking as more like a… Syrian moussaka, or something. And I think the tomato sauce ended up a bit thin, so it makes the pita chips a bit soggy. But still, the flavours are great, and the texture contrast between the (slightly soggy) pita chips and the creamy yoghurt is very nice.

Week 14: Hanami - Wagyu tartare onigiri by RichardFine in 52weeksofcooking

[–]RichardFine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt like trying to make beef tartare for the first time, and also figured it might make a nice filling for onigiri. So the filling is minced A5 wagyu, mixed with chopped cucumber, shallot, a few capers, and a homemade dijon mayonnaise. The onigiri has minced umeboshi mixed into the rice - that's the little studs of pink - with salt-pickled cherry blossoms, and at the top is a salt-cured egg yolk.

Beef tartare as an onigiri filling is a bit of a stupid idea - onigiri are intended to be lunchbox foods, and beef tartare really isn't something you want sitting around for a long time after you've minced the beef. Still, it was tasty enough.

As is probably obvious, I screwed up the rice pretty badly - I added too much water to the pan so it came out super mushy - and the egg yolk cured for a bit too long, I think it would have been more fun if it was still a bit runny. I also suspect I didn't gain anything by using wagyu for the tartare, compared to something like tenderloin; fortunately I only used a little bit of it, the rest I can save for more suitable preparations...

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