So who else is a foodie around here?

[jokergirl]

I may have mentioned in another thread that I have a foodie blog somewhere offsite...

So who else here takes more than a "normal" interest in food?
And of course, do you have any recipes to recommend?

[Fazor]

I love food and cooking; if I'm not watching sports or stuck watching the g/f's crap (99% HGTV *barf* 1% disney-channel non-cartoon shows *barf more*) I'm watching food network.

Tonight I plan on making turkey burgers with a plum sauce. I don't use recipes, so we'll see how that goes.

[Jay200MPH]

I do! I love cooking - either perfecting old dishes or experimenting with new ideas. Right now I'm on a big North African kick and I've been working the styles of that part of the world into most of my meals. Great fun. Unfortunately I live alone so I don't get to cook for others very often, which is part of the fun.

- J

[Doodler]

I do a lot of improv cooking, and have been told I should have been a chef. The problem is, I hate doing stuff the same way twice, and having worked in a small restaurant (not a chain), I'd rather scorch the tastebuds off my tongue than deal with some of the clients I've seen roll through there.

[Fazor]

I do a lot of improv cooking, and have been told I should have been a chef. The problem is, I hate doing stuff the same way twice, and having worked in a small restaurant (not a chain), I'd rather scorch the tastebuds off my tongue than deal with some of the clients I've seen roll through there.

Agreed. See, I'd love to go to culinary school, and it's one of the things I've thought about doing to get out of my current field. But I don't want to be a resturant chef. I think I'd be happy as one of the .. uh .. "Chefologists" (whatever their real title is) that create dishes to be added to menus, but does not sit and cook them all night every night.

[Swift]

Me! My wife and I are both pretty big foodies. A lot of our trip to Italy was food oriented, including a cooking class. Among my many pictures, I took photos of most of our meals and took notes about them.

[geonuc]

I are a foodie. I was a moderator on the local food forum for a long time.

atlantacuisine.com

[PetersCreek]

I love to cook...in the kitchen and out. I often cook by the seat of my pants, starting with no recipe at all. I'm a smoker of meats and other foods. I cure and smoke my own Canadian bacon and sausages. Every once in a while, I make my own fresh mozzarella. I grill year-round...in Alaska...which often means shovelling a path to the grill.

I guess that makes me a foodie. The WifeŽ is no slouch, either, so we keep each other well fed.

[jokergirl]

Wow. Your own mozzarella? Where do you get the buffalo milk from and do you have photos of the process?

I'm cooking vegetarian or fish exclusively, but I am having a lot of fun adapting meat recipes. Right now there are vegetarian stuffed peppers steaming in my oven... *goes to check on them*

[MAPNUT]

"Foodie", a necessary new word. I cook, my wife cooks, and one of my sons cooks when necessary. My other son and my daughter, however, are foodies.

[Swift]

I often cook by the seat of my pants,

Uh, um, well, whatever works for you.

[Fazor]

Uh, um, well, whatever works for you.

Bioheat. He's going green.

...and so are his dinner guests.

[PetersCreek]

Wow. Your own mozzarella? Where do you get the buffalo milk from and do you have photos of the process?

I'm cooking vegetarian or fish exclusively, but I am having a lot of fun adapting meat recipes. Right now there are vegetarian stuffed peppers steaming in my oven... *goes to check on them*

I haven't found a drop of water buffalo milk in Alaska, yet. Go figure. I buy organic, non-homogenized, whole milk from the local health nut store. I haven't photographed the process myself but there are several excellent guides on the net, such as Fankhauser's Cheese Page. He doesn't recommend making mozzarella as your first cheese but of course, I didn't listen to such alarmist nonsense. Fortunately, I didn't have much trouble and acheived edible results the first time.

[PetersCreek]

I do, however, have a photo or two that document my Canadian bacon making. Sorry...it's not vegetarian, I know...but pigs eat veggies and that's close enough for me.

[cplradar]

I'm fat-relative to people who are "normal"-and like to eat. Therefore, I found cooking necessary to satisfy whatever need I might have. Usually sausage scallopini or other nonsense at 03:00. I am a foodie?

[turbo-1]

I raise a vegetable garden with lots of VERY hot chilies, including some snarly habanero peppers. I make salsas and chili relishes with the produce. The tomatoes, peppers, garlic, dill and other herbs, etc all came out of this dirt.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...gardenshot.jpg

Here is one cupboard full of (mostly) hot stuff. There are several more, including larger under-counter cupboards that I fill every summer.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...llcupboard.jpg

Here is one small batch of habanero relish in the beginning stages. Just habanero peppers, Russian garlic and minced dill florets at this stage. The habanero relish is so hot that I can only use about 1/2 tsp of it on a hot dog without making it 'way too hot. So far, my brother is the only other person that can stand that kind of heat. I have a friend in NY who really liked a batch that I made from store-bought habaneros a couple of years ago. The home-grown peppers are WAY hotter, and I'll be interested to see what he thinks next time he visits.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...nerorelish.jpg

[geonuc]

I raise a vegetable garden with lots of VERY hot chilies, including some snarly habanero peppers.

Cool, I mean hot. I've been growing habaneros for about 15 years or so. My favorites are the Red Savina (I think I posted a picture of one here somewhere), but I'd like to get some Naga Jolokia plants.

Tried a hot sauce recently that was blend of both Red Savina and Naga Jolokia. Along with being quite warm, it was very tasty.

Naga Saurus, it's called.

[geonuc]

So far, my brother is the only other person that can stand that kind of heat. I have a friend in NY who really liked a batch that I made from store-bought habaneros a couple of years ago. The home-grown peppers are WAY hotter, and I'll be interested to see what he thinks next time he visits.

I used to think that once. Then I met my father-in-law. I swear, the guy could sprinkle ground up habaneros on his corn flakes.

But he has since passed on, so I'm back in your boat. It's a curse, I tell you. Nothing is spicy enough.

[turbo-1]

Cool, I mean hot. I've been growing habaneros for about 15 years or so. My favorites are the Red Savina (I think I posted a picture of one here somewhere), but I'd like to get some Naga Jolokia plants.

Tried a hot sauce recently that was blend of both Red Savina and Naga Jolokia. Along with being quite warm, it was very tasty.

Naga Saurus, it's called.

The guys I buy the habanero plants from call them red carribeans, but they may well be savinas. Scotch bonnets are NO match for these little rascals. They are good green (if frost threatens) but they are great when red. My habanero relish is absolutely the hottest condiment I've ever tasted. The garlic and dill and other ingredients round out the flavor and make the relish very tasty, but that can't hide the heat. If I eat one hot dog with 1/2 tsp of that relish spread throughout the roll, my scalp is saturated. Love the burn. The heat is relentless, though.

[turbo-1]

I used to think that once. Then I met my father-in-law. I swear, the guy could sprinkle ground up habaneros on his corn flakes.

But he has since passed on, so I'm back in your boat. It's a curse, I tell you. Nothing is spicy enough.

My father-in-law (now passed) grew some very hot peppers that looked like some moderate (jalapeno-heat) peppers that I raised. My father (now 82) saw me pulling the milder peppers out of my shirt pocket and eating them as I often did, and I'd make a face. He said "are those really hot?" and I told him that they were pretty snarly. He said "give me one" and I handed him one of the father-in-law's scorchers. He took one bite and ran for the sink. I was laughing so hard that I thought I'd cry, then I explained what I did to him. He begged for the chilies so I gave them to him so he could play the same trick on some chili-heads at work. I snapped the stems off the jalapenos so that he could tell the difference and only eat those.

[ginnie]

I raise a vegetable garden with lots of VERY hot chilies, including some snarly habanero peppers. I make salsas and chili relishes with the produce. The tomatoes, peppers, garlic, dill and other herbs, etc all came out of this dirt.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...gardenshot.jpg

Here is one cupboard full of (mostly) hot stuff. There are several more, including larger under-counter cupboards that I fill every summer.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...llcupboard.jpg

Here is one small batch of habanero relish in the beginning stages. Just habanero peppers, Russian garlic and minced dill florets at this stage. The habanero relish is so hot that I can only use about 1/2 tsp of it on a hot dog without making it 'way too hot. So far, my brother is the only other person that can stand that kind of heat. I have a friend in NY who really liked a batch that I made from store-bought habaneros a couple of years ago. The home-grown peppers are WAY hotter, and I'll be interested to see what he thinks next time he visits.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...nerorelish.jpg

I am very envious of your yard!
I guess I'm a foodle if I:
Do eighty percent of our cooking at home.
Watch a lot of cooking shows.

Is that right?
I don't cook anything too fancy, and I don't grow anything. My wife grows lots of herbs that I use though. My latest neat book is a book of Sauces - which can make or break any meal IMO.

[turbo-1]

I am very envious of your yard!
I guess I'm a foodle if I:
Do eighty percent of our cooking at home.
Watch a lot of cooking shows.

Is that right?
I don't cook anything too fancy, and I don't grow anything. My wife grows lots of herbs that I use though. My latest neat book is a book of Sauces - which can make or break any meal IMO.

The yard is nothing special, but I have tilled truck-loads of peat, composted cow manure, and organic fertilizers (blood meal, fish meal, etc) and composted garden/yard waste into that garden plot. I've been gardening since a child (~50 years) and when my wife and I bought this place, I was determined to turn that chunk of clay and rocks into real soil.

I am the saucier of the family. Many of my wife's favorite recipes originated when she found a deal on shrimp, meat, etc, and she tasked me with inventing sauces/marinades to cook them with.

[hhEb09'1]

Tonight I plan on making turkey burgers with a plum sauce. I don't use recipes, so we'll see how that goes.

Do you throw chopped olives and cheeses into the mix? That seems to be the favorite around here.

Here's a recipe that does not work. You all know how to fix it:

Rainbow Soup

8 Red potatoes
1 T. Orange zest
3 T. Yellow butter
1 can Green chilis
1 pkg. Blue cheese
1 Purple onion
1 c. milk
2 T. flour
1 dash vinegar

Peel and dice potatoes and boil not quite covered in water until cooked. Do not drain--mash once or twice. Saute chopped onion in butter, and stir in flour, add with other ingredients to potatoes, stir and simmer. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Serve with diced green chili mixed with crumbled blue cheese, and/or cheese cubes, sour cream, guacamole, or bits of ham or bacon.

[Whirlpool]

I raise a vegetable garden with lots of VERY hot chilies, including some snarly habanero peppers. I make salsas and chili relishes with the produce. The tomatoes, peppers, garlic, dill and other herbs, etc all came out of this dirt.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...gardenshot.jpg

Here is one cupboard full of (mostly) hot stuff. There are several more, including larger under-counter cupboards that I fill every summer.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...llcupboard.jpg

Here is one small batch of habanero relish in the beginning stages. Just habanero peppers, Russian garlic and minced dill florets at this stage. The habanero relish is so hot that I can only use about 1/2 tsp of it on a hot dog without making it 'way too hot. So far, my brother is the only other person that can stand that kind of heat. I have a friend in NY who really liked a batch that I made from store-bought habaneros a couple of years ago. The home-grown peppers are WAY hotter, and I'll be interested to see what he thinks next time he visits.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...nerorelish.jpg

Hi Turbo, you a nice garden there.

Those hot stuffs are really enticing.

I make my own hot sauces and dips but not like yours. You have the entire cabinet there filled with them!

Usually mine are simple and enough only for today's meal.

I cook , but I'm not a good cook. My mom is . She's a magician.

I enjoy watching the shows in the food network , and I have a collection of Food Magazines at home.

I don't know if I'm a foodie by that description.

[Fazor]

Do you throw chopped olives and cheeses into the mix? That seems to be the favorite around here.

Cheese yes (provolone), Olives no. It's the first time I made Plumb-Turkey Burgers, and just winged it. Ended up with more of a plumb-based BBQ. And it was good.

But olives might work well; salty would have been an interesting depth of flavor to the sweetish sauce. I may try that next time; though might be too much with the red onion and lettuce I plan to add (just didn't have any tonight to throw on it).

[BigDon]

One of my favorite simple dishes, where adding anything detracts from the overall result is sauteing sliced zuchinni (marrow to the Brits) in butter with sliced mushrooms, until everybody's tender and the mushrooms surrender their liquids. Salt and pepper to taste of course.

And why are you folks coming up with the habs and scotch bonnets for? If I'm entertaining I usually only go as high as serranos without a lot of warning ahead of time. Fresh habs will raise blisters on your bare flesh, its happened to me before, making chili. Two habs, with seeds, made a batch of chili, two gallons in volume, too hot for most of my folks to eat. I had to eat most of it myself. (Wow, that was 16 years ago!)

[danscope]

[QUOTE=jokergirl;1289563]I may have mentioned in another thread that I have a foodie blog somewhere offsite...

So who else here takes more than a "normal" interest in food?
And of course, do you have any recipes to recommend?

******************

Hi Jokergirl,

I enjoy cooking . Over time I'll share a few recipies you'll probably like....
including
Scratch Pancakes with sour cream, orange juice and zest

Waffles ( simillar take off of above .....wicked good )

Your very own scrumptious CORNED BEEF HASH (Rave reviews )

Delicious and easy CHICKEN IN AN HOUR ( DEAD SIMPLE and foolproof)

Rave reviews PIZZA ....a revelation .

A quite good Italian gravy (Tomato gravy made good and easy ).

Secret flavour Boston Baked Beans ( some rocket science involved)

Wicked Mocha frosting

Ask me what you want . Recipies shall be forth comming.

Best regards, Dan

[ginnie]

Why wait!
I want your corned beef hash and Italian gravy recipe now.

[Karl]

I may have mentioned in another thread that I have a foodie blog somewhere offsite...

So who else here takes more than a "normal" interest in food?
And of course, do you have any recipes to recommend?

We were at a friend's party a few years ago and a woman asks me: "So, are you a physics or a foodie?" (Reflecting the bimodal distribution of the guests.)

My response was: "Ummmmm, do I have to choose?"

Been concentrating recently on old fashioned low and slow original American barbecue.

[Karl]

One of my favorite simple dishes, where adding anything detracts from the overall result is sauteing sliced zuchinni (marrow to the Brits) in butter with sliced mushrooms, until everybody's tender and the mushrooms surrender their liquids. Salt and pepper to taste of course.

I usually add a little shallot or Vidalia onion too. And for the salt I've been using the Redmond Real Salt with lots of trace minerals. I thinks it really enhances the flavors.