The Cooking Thread

[DiveMilw]

Please use this thread to talk about cooking, recipes you want to try, how to do some type of cooking, etc. 
(Sorry, I'm really tired.  I'll try to make this more eloquent at a later date.)

[Bobster]

So I tried Gordon Ramsay's scrambled eggs with sour cream instead of creme fraiche.  I took internet advice to add some mayo and also added a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Then my pinch of natural salt accidentally was a little bigger....

[Gordonb]

Who knew that if you scatter a handful of lemon-grass seeds in a pot in the garden in the spring, ignore it until August and then, as you are surveying the estate so to speak you, come across said (unlabelled naturally) pot full of delicate little leaves, you wonder what it is, you try a leaf and it has a subtle taste of lemon? Then you remember scattering the lemon-grass seeds!

I suppose that it is no surprise really and I suppose too that if left for long enough the root will develop into the lemon-grass we use in Oriental cooking, but you know the leaf itself is just fine to add to a salad of mixed leaves.

[Gordonb]

So I tried Gordon Ramsay's scrambled eggs with sour cream instead of creme fraiche.  I took internet advice to add some mayo and also added a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Then my pinch of natural salt accidentally was a little bigger....

And were they much different from non-Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs?

Mayo? Really?

[Chris L]

Recipe videos in the style of famous directors. The Wes Anderson one is perfect.

[DiveMilw]

@Gordonb - I never thought of the lemongrass leaves on their own.  What a wonderful discovery!  I may have to try that next summer.  

@Chris L  - I also like the Tarantino video, especially because it has two parts.  

[DiveMilw]

During Amazon Prime Day I purchased an Instant Pot.  It is an electric pressure cooker.....sort of a reverse slow cooker.  It cooks things pretty fast although some foods aren't much of a time saver.  Like a slow cooker, you don't have to watch over it while it cooks - that is what is great about it.  You can throw in stuff for dinner and within 45 minutes have a meal.  And most of that 45 mins can be devoted to doing other things you need to get done.  You can even cook a main course and a side dish at the same time using the "pot-in-pot" method so everything doesn't have to be a soup/stew/casserole type thing.  

I've cooked a few things in it so far.  I like it but it is a brand new way of cooking and it will take me a while to learn the nuances of it.  So far, one of the things I like best is that you don't have to soak dried beans before you cook them.  Beans, water, seasonings, and 30 minutes cook time gets you tasty, just tender beans.  

[Gordonb]

As a break from the "shit-it's-only-4-weeks-till-we-go-on-holiday-let's-eat-lentils" diet, for lunch today we had a Dorset crab and avocado salad with "tostones" which is a Venezuelan dish of twice-fried plantain slices; as it has been in the mid 80s today (it's a Bank Holiday in England) we ate in the garden in the shade and it was all rather lovely and good practice for our upcoming trip to Turkey.

[Bobster]

So I tried Gordon Ramsay's scrambled eggs with sour cream instead of creme fraiche.  I took internet advice to add some mayo and also added a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Then my pinch of natural salt accidentally was a little bigger....

And were they much different from non-Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs?

Mayo? Really?

Yes they were, @Gordonb.  I'm used to fully cooked and solid scrambled, not loose and in a mound as it were.
I was trying to cut the strongness of the sour cream since I didn't have creme fraiche and was trying ANYTHING I could to have that happen.  

[DiveMilw]

Tonight I tried making a pancake in my electric pressure cooker.  The Instant Pot Facebook group of which I'm a member was raving about this a month or so ago.  My thoughts:  It was nice to try.  Not sure I'll ever do it again.  The best thing that can be said about it is that you don't have to watch over it while it cooks.  It might be better with a higher quality pancake mix or a really good "made from scratch" recipe.  Might.  

[DiveMilw]

A few days ago @JustTheOneAnne posted on FB that she was making pasta e ceci.  I didn't know what that was so I looked it up.  For those who aren't familiar it is Pasta & Chickpeas.  I found a recipe that I thought she might use on Smitten Kitchen (which I nearly always read as Smitten Kitten).  It turns out that is the recipe she uses.  There are many out there but this one is pretty basic.  It is so easy to make and doesn't use a lot of ingredients.  Peruse other recipes if you'd like to jazz it up.  I made this last night and it was fantastic.  It will be my lunch today.  I've added a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to give it a slightly different flavor profile.  But the recipe as is is so good because nothing gets in the way of the tomato flavor. 

[Gordonb]

A few days ago @JustTheOneAnne posted on FB that she was making pasta e ceci.  I didn't know what that was so I looked it up.  For those who aren't familiar it is Pasta & Chickpeas.  I found a recipe that I thought she might use on Smitten Kitchen (which I nearly always read as Smitten Kitten).  It turns out that is the recipe she uses.  There are many out there but this one is pretty basic.  It is so easy to make and doesn't use a lot of ingredients.  Peruse other recipes if you'd like to jazz it up.  I made this last night and it was fantastic.  It will be my lunch today.  I've added a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to give it a slightly different flavor profile.  But the recipe as is is so good because nothing gets in the way of the tomato flavor.  

I like this dish a lot too - simple but refined; I'd usually use dried chickpeas and cook for longer obviously - tinned chickpeas are fine but they tend to be a little softer than I like. I looked at the link you added Tom and was THRILLED to see that it linked to Rachel Roddy's Thursday Guardian column which is an absolute joy to read and so evocative. We're going to Rome in mid December and we are staying in an apartment in the Trastrevere area of the city which is where she lives and where there are fabulous markets, food shops etc.

[DiveMilw]

Oh my goodness!!  Just reading the summaries and looking at the photos is making me hungry and I just finished eating dinner.  I can't wait to dive into her blog/column.  

[DiveMilw]

Congee is like a rice porridge.  I prefer mine on the thicker side but you can make it any constancy you'd like.  This time I made it in my electric pressure cooker but you could use a slow cooker or even, gasp, the stovetop.

I prefer to make congee in the slow cooker because I like the texture better that way. But I used my IP last night for a couple of reasons. 1) I wanted to brown my Italian sausage but didn't wish to wash a frying pan. 2) A really long slow cook (8+ hours) tends to leech all of the flavor out of the meat. That makes for tasty congee except for the meat. 3) I actually got out of bed last night to throw this together because I decided I wanted it for lunch today.

This is almost like a risotto knockoff. 

30mins, Porridge Setting, NPR until I got up in the morning.
If your pressure cooker doesn't have a "porridge" setting use Manual at High Pressure.
(It might have switched to keep warm. I opened the cover to add some more water and I'm not sure if that function turned on again.)

This is what I put in it. (more or less)
1 Cup Brown Rice
(Normally, I use white rice but I had some brown rice I wanted to use up. You can use any type of white rice. It didn't get as creamy as it normally does and I think that is because of the brown rice. )
1/4 Cup Glutinous Rice
(If you don't have Glutinous/Sweet/Sticky rice use whatever type of rice you have on hand.)
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
2.5 cans of water
1 lbs sweet Italian Sausage
Some mild peppers
2 smaller carrots
Spanish Smoked Paprika
7 cloves of Garlic
2 Bay Leaves
1 Small Onion
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
Oregano, dried onion flakes, parsley, roaster garlic powder, other assorted herbs, black pepper.

[mrssondheim]

My husband, half jokingly, asked for this for New Years Dinner. Has anyone  made beef wellington? Any helpful hints??

https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/recipes/beef-wellington-for-two/