Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
Are there any "scratch" cooks left ?
- Thread starter Traveler
- Start date
No love. I’d just kick him in the head. ( if he got too close to me ) No cuteness either but ‘still not sure if I’d wanna eat one:shrug:
Just YUCK!
It’s probably safe to say that I’m adventurous but NOT when it comes to what I put in my mouth. I’m what you’d call squirmish but my husband will eat just about anything. Cod tongues, fish heads, squid, moose, deer and all kinds of things I don’t even want to see, let alone eat.
Oddly enough though, I LOVE hot & spicy and my guy doesn’t. We are polar opposites to the max.
When I make curry, my house smells like curry for about 3 days. I use some much spice !
Even chicken wings I like hot. That franks hot sauce. Yep! Hot!
It doesn’t rip my guts out. In fact studies have proved that the turmeric and other spices in most Indian food is what keeps their culture healthier than our western one.
It’s probably safe to say that I’m adventurous but NOT when it comes to what I put in my mouth. I’m what you’d call squirmish but my husband will eat just about anything. Cod tongues, fish heads, squid, moose, deer and all kinds of things I don’t even want to see, let alone eat.
Oddly enough though, I LOVE hot & spicy and my guy doesn’t. We are polar opposites to the max.
When I make curry, my house smells like curry for about 3 days. I use some much spice !
Even chicken wings I like hot. That franks hot sauce. Yep! Hot!
It doesn’t rip my guts out. In fact studies have proved that the turmeric and other spices in most Indian food is what keeps their culture healthier than our western one.
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
Keesha, does your husband enjoy a good crusty Artisan Bread ? Maybe to go with that soup you make ?
While I may enjoy pulling out all the stops for guests, I still prefer "down home" country comfort foods when I'm cooking just for myself.
A nice chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes, country gravy and green beans, cooked down with bacon, is hard to beat.
While I may enjoy pulling out all the stops for guests, I still prefer "down home" country comfort foods when I'm cooking just for myself.
A nice chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes, country gravy and green beans, cooked down with bacon, is hard to beat.
terry123
Well-known Member
- Location
- Houston, Tx.
My favorite too. A scratch cook here too!!Love those country foods especially with home made cornbread with a big glass of milk or sweet tea.
Traveler, I had to look up Chicken fried steak as I’d never heard of it before
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_fried_steak/
and while my man loves any fatty types of food, I don’t think he’s ever had this. Of course, he served in the military, so has been over seas and tried many things I haven’t and can’t see this being any different.
My mans into the BBQ thing too but what man isn’t into BBQ? They seem to turn into cavemen when BBQ’ing is concerned.
He makes thrice cooked ribs. Boils the ribs first, cooks them on the bbq then pops them in the oven. Or pulled pork. Stick the pork in the slow cooker with a can of root beer and cover in BBQ sauce.
Then he’s got this half duck/ half turkey thing cooked on the BBQ that all the guys at his work rave about.
He works with a bunch of guys and they have pot lucks at work once a month and the things these guys eat is sometimes, well, disgusting, to put it bluntly. Lol
He’s from out east so Jiggs dinner is really big but so is fish ‘n brewis. That’s cod cooked in pork fat , better known as scrunchions. It’s not really my preference. While I love fish and chips, I prefer gluten free battered fish and homemade fries ( chips ) cooked in a deep fryer. Yes it’s greasy, fatty food but it’s simply delicious .
That with tar tar sauce made zucchini relish, mayonnaise and lemon. Oh yum.
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
Mmmm. Yum. I also love cornbread.
If you ever want to make Chicken Fried Steak for your guy, may I suggest that the www recipe you posted has 2 main flaws.
1.) The tenderized steak does not need to be pounded that thin. 1/2 inch is much better and a man knows he's eating meat, not just a lot
of breading. A perfectly cooked Chicken Fried Steak should be crispy on the outside and moist, tender, on the inside. Also, don't add the gravy until you are sitting down at the table
2.) When making the gravy, the roux does not need to be cooked so dark. I recommend cooking it over a very low flame, stirring often, and stop cooking before the roux gets too dark. A very light golden is about right. Then add the milk/cream. The gravy, IMO, should be white. Continue cooking until the "floury" taste is gone. Also, a dash or two of sage and black pepper to taste also boosts the flavor.
I hope you will try this simple recipe. it's delicious !
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
debbie in seattle
Senior Member
- Location
- Seattle
Yes and love it. That being said, used to go down a lot more in the past. Today it is full of homeless and tourists. Also, can get much of what is sold at a lot of the grocery stores.
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
That's a shame. Pikes Place always had such old world style ambience. When I was in college I had a GF that was getting her MSW and when I went up to Seattle to see her, we would go to Pikes Place Market. There was an open air restaurant that had great seafood.
I will try this for my man. His birthday is coming up soon and I’d like to either make this or Sourhern Fried Chicken.
He was raised on lots of junk food and one thing he goes on and on about is Mary Browns Chicken. It’s a franchise that used to make really good chicken but he says it’s changed over the years so here’s a question I have.
QUESTION!!! What makes Southern Fried Chicken so good. Is it because the chicken is dipped in batter and fried, then repeated for a double dip? So it’s basically double fried.
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
Making great tasting bread.
Modern science has given us dry yeast, which does a fine job of raising the dough, both before baking and during the final bake. BUT yeast does not create great flavor all by itself.
The kind of flavor you get from a good bakery comes only with TIME and the development of BACTERIA. . When I say time , I do not mean just an hour or two of rising (bulk fermentation). I'm talking about 10-12 hours of time. Why so much time?
Bacteria, is what creates great flavor. And, bacteria simply will not be rushed. There is a lot of science involved but just think about other fermented foods: cheese, wine, beer, and soy sauce etc. TIME ! As you already know, sometimes it can take years for the bacteria to do it's job.
So, how do we get that flavor ?
We can take a small portion of the recipe: flour, water and a TINY, TINY amount of yeast, (no salt yet) mix it together, cover it and allow the naturally occurring bacteria to develop over-night, on the kitchen counter at room temp. This is called a pre-ferment.
10-12 hour later the pre-ferment has more than doubled in volume and is covered in thousands of tiny gas bubbles. It also smells strongly of alcohol.
Then, in the morning, all we have to do is combine the pre-ferment with the remaining ingredients and allow our dough to slowly, slowly rise, ---- double.
This may sound complicated but it's really quite easy and simple. Your taste buds and your guests will thank you.
If anyone would like to discuss this further, I'd be happy to oblige.
Modern science has given us dry yeast, which does a fine job of raising the dough, both before baking and during the final bake. BUT yeast does not create great flavor all by itself.
The kind of flavor you get from a good bakery comes only with TIME and the development of BACTERIA. . When I say time , I do not mean just an hour or two of rising (bulk fermentation). I'm talking about 10-12 hours of time. Why so much time?
Bacteria, is what creates great flavor. And, bacteria simply will not be rushed. There is a lot of science involved but just think about other fermented foods: cheese, wine, beer, and soy sauce etc. TIME ! As you already know, sometimes it can take years for the bacteria to do it's job.
So, how do we get that flavor ?
We can take a small portion of the recipe: flour, water and a TINY, TINY amount of yeast, (no salt yet) mix it together, cover it and allow the naturally occurring bacteria to develop over-night, on the kitchen counter at room temp. This is called a pre-ferment.
10-12 hour later the pre-ferment has more than doubled in volume and is covered in thousands of tiny gas bubbles. It also smells strongly of alcohol.
Then, in the morning, all we have to do is combine the pre-ferment with the remaining ingredients and allow our dough to slowly, slowly rise, ---- double.
This may sound complicated but it's really quite easy and simple. Your taste buds and your guests will thank you.
If anyone would like to discuss this further, I'd be happy to oblige.
Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
As far as possible we cook from scratch. We grow as many of our own vegetables as possible and help to raise pigs and sheep which we butcher and freeze. We buy fresh fish locally and potatoes from a local farmer. For the other ingredients we have to buy, we try to ensure that they come from local and reliable sources. I don't particularly believe in buying 'organic' - all too often it just means higher prices.
I cook most of the main meals, Mrs. L bakes the cakes and pastries and our son bakes the bread. As others have said, when you cook it yourself, you know what's in it and where it's come from. I hate TV ads. trying to tell us that we don't have time to cook and we should buy ready meals all the time.
I cook most of the main meals, Mrs. L bakes the cakes and pastries and our son bakes the bread. As others have said, when you cook it yourself, you know what's in it and where it's come from. I hate TV ads. trying to tell us that we don't have time to cook and we should buy ready meals all the time.
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
Excellent question. First, it is not necessary to double fry. Actually, I never heard of "double frying" Double dipping, yes.
Here is what I do, Mix 1 1/2 cup of flour with 2 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/4 tsp of powered garlic, and 1/2 tsp of onion powder.
In a separate bowl whip 2 whole eggs and 1/4 cup water. (I don't use milk because at the high frying temp it burns too easily.)
1st step, thoroughly coat the chicken pieces in the flour mix.
2nd, dip the chicken pieces in the egg wash, being sure to thoroughly coat each piece.
3rd, toss the pieces AGAIN in the flour mixture. And leave them in the flour until ready to start frying. It is best to not put ice cold chicken in the fryer because the oil temp will drop way down.
There are many ways of frying chicken: in a shallow fry pan with 1/2 inch of oil, deep frying with 3-4 inches of oil, or frying under pressure (KFC does this with a pressure cooker) and even oven "frying". I prefer the deep fry method.
I have found that the best temp for frying chicken to be 360 F degrees (182 C.)
Please be sure to NOT over-crowd your deep fryer. It will lower the temp and result in greasy chicken.
Speaking of greasy chicken, drain your cooked chicken on a wire rack with a sheet pan under. Never, never, never use paper towels. it will just sit there and steam, ruining your crispy coating.
The frying time depends up the size of the pieces. Wings and other small white pieces take 12 minutes, Dark meat takes longer, 16-17 minutes.
P.S. I use a cast-iron Dutch oven for deep frying my foods. The heavy metal will retain the proper frying temp.
So, to answer your question, what makes fried chicken taste so wonderful ? 3 reasons: the fat from the chicken skin, the right amount of seasoning, AND the caramelization of the flour.
I’m a scratch cook. I’m also a home canner. We grow and preserve our food. If we can’t grow it we buy from local farmers and either can or freeze it. I know that’s not exactly what you would call scratch. I can make some killer biscuits and corn bread. It took me several years to perfect my biscuits. I’m also not against some already made things, Sometimes I just don’t want to cook.
My next project is pizza, I detest frozen pizza, and we live too far out for delivery. In fact my next grocery list is made up of ingredients for dough and sauce. I’m all out of home canned tomatoes ,so I’ll probably buy store canned. Our tomato plants are already about 10’ so doing good.
My next project is pizza, I detest frozen pizza, and we live too far out for delivery. In fact my next grocery list is made up of ingredients for dough and sauce. I’m all out of home canned tomatoes ,so I’ll probably buy store canned. Our tomato plants are already about 10’ so doing good.
Fabulous answer traveler. It makes sense not to use milk. Lactose is milk sugar and certainly ‘does’ burn. That’s the reason I don’t use it in omelettes either. I use ice water instead. Works great
I also prefer a good deep fryer for such things
OK I’ll try this then and report back. I’ll even take a pic and add it.
:thankyou:
You and I have very similar lifestyles.
We cut and store our own wood from trees.
We grow and can / freeze our own vegetables.
We try and live as healthy a lifestyle as we possibly can and make our own pizza too. Delivery pizza costs too much and getting it delivered on a rural route is next to impossible. Yep but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What about satellite or internet?
I know. Another thread Keesha
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
My biggest challenge when I started making pizza was learning to eliminate/minimize watery ingredients. I accomplished that by using paper-thin strips/slices of fresh vegetables and by using a thick paste based pizza sauce. The second challenge was learning to be slightly stingy when adding the various toppings.
This is the basic sauce recipe that I use. I spread the thick sauce on the dough in a thin layer using the back of a serving spoon and then top the pizza with the remaining ingredients.
Pizza Sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¼ - ½ cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1T dry Oregano
1T dry Basil
Mix well. If you use fresh basil omit the dried from the sauce and add the fresh basil as a pizza topping. This makes enough for 2 sheet pizzas. The leftovers can be frozen with good results.
Good luck!
Thanks..I've been wondering about the fennel seed.
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
In this area, the Italian sausage contains fennel seed.
You could always add some fennel seeds to the sauce if your sausage does not contain them. Put the fennel seeds on your cutting board and run a knife over them to help release the flavor.
Traveler
Senior Member
- Location
- San Diego County
Also, I find adding a few drops of water to the dry fennel seeds keeps them from flying around as you chop them up.
P.S. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER MADE A PIZZA BEFORE, PLS BE SURE TO COOK YOUR SAUSAGE PRIOR TO PUTTING IT ON THE PIZZA
A dish that’s always been a favourite for either special occasions or for when you want something extra fancy with no fuss, then this is for you.
This Chichen Cordon Bleu recipe I usually make with homemade gluten free cream of celery soup but I use to make it with Campbell’s Cream of Celery Soup. It’s a bit costly to make but is always a big success every time. This was the first thing I made my husband in my tiny toaster oven.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( one per person )
Black Forest Ham
Swiss Cheese Slices ( OR cheese of your choice ) I often use Havarti cheese with caraway seeds
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 can’s worth of white wine or cooking white wine
toothpicks ( wooden )
Pound chicken flat, place ham on top, then slice of cheese
Roll up and place toothpicks to hold it together. Do all chicken and place in a casserole dish.
Mix wine together with soup and pour over chicken. Cover and cook until chicken is done. Not pink. This will depend on size of chicken.
This goes very nice with long and wild rice that’s cooked with chicken broth instead of water.
Green beans go nicely but any favourite vegetable will work. It’s really a nice dish.
Its not a completely ‘made from scratch’ recipe but it’s truly worth trying. Your guests will be impressed and it’s super easy.
This Chichen Cordon Bleu recipe I usually make with homemade gluten free cream of celery soup but I use to make it with Campbell’s Cream of Celery Soup. It’s a bit costly to make but is always a big success every time. This was the first thing I made my husband in my tiny toaster oven.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( one per person )
Black Forest Ham
Swiss Cheese Slices ( OR cheese of your choice ) I often use Havarti cheese with caraway seeds
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 can’s worth of white wine or cooking white wine
toothpicks ( wooden )
Pound chicken flat, place ham on top, then slice of cheese
Roll up and place toothpicks to hold it together. Do all chicken and place in a casserole dish.
Mix wine together with soup and pour over chicken. Cover and cook until chicken is done. Not pink. This will depend on size of chicken.
This goes very nice with long and wild rice that’s cooked with chicken broth instead of water.
Green beans go nicely but any favourite vegetable will work. It’s really a nice dish.
Its not a completely ‘made from scratch’ recipe but it’s truly worth trying. Your guests will be impressed and it’s super easy.
Thanks Aunt Bea
Why you!You lost me at....Cordon Bleu....All in good fun....
:bigwink: