ChiFlyer Posted December 25, 2023 Author Share Posted December 25, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, ChiFlyer said: Xmas Dinner We had another couple over for Xmas Dinner. I did the cooking. I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. Compliments were given and there were zero leftovers. The main entree was Roast Duck. .... Just to add a little background to the Xmas Dinner post. The husband of the other couple is French. He also is fairly deep into Stage-4 Alzhiemers. The doctors had predicted earlier this year that he was unlikely to make it to New Year's. Good chance he will prove them wrong it looks like. Probably not by a lot. I was amazed at how the taste of the food brought him out of his fog, especially the Belgium Chocolate Ice Cream. His Thai wife is about the nicest person I have met in my life. I initially met her at the VT2A pool and tried to hit on her. That was 7 years ago. She indignantly told me that she was married. OK, time to move on. A few months later, my now Thai wife and I were at the pool and I introduced the two ladies. Over the years they have become BFFs. Life remains a long song, I guess. All due accords to Ian Anderson. Edited December 25, 2023 by ChiFlyer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 NY Day Dinner - Rack of Lamb, Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes, Roast Broccoli, and Hagen Dazs Ice Cream We had another couple over to start the New Year. I was the cook once again. All said that I did an admirable job. Rack of Lamb - this dish drew the most compliments. There was a second serving dish at the other end of the table. Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes - These were pretty good, but I prefer the Garlic Roasted Potatoes that I served on Xmas. The dark liquid left of the potatoes is a red wine sauce for the lamb. Roasted Broccoli - I was a little disappointed in this dish and will go back to steaming broccoli. Plated Well that's it for the Holidays. Time to put away the fancy dishes and become concerned about the 2 kg I put on. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 (edited) Steak au Poivre and Baked Potatoes I decided to prepare something fancy to keep the New Year spirit going. I have made this dish many times, but I see that I never posted it here at Tx24. Steak au Poivre https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/steak-au-poivre-recipe-1916730?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true& This is certainly not an inexpensive dish to prepare. The small fillets were 400 each. A large bottle of Remey Martin VSOP Cognac was 3000. The good news is that not much of the cognac is used in the cooking so there will be a goodly number of late night sniffers to be addressed over the next few months. Just had one. 🙂 An important point for anyone who decides to do this is that for the flambe step get the pan to an open area and keep you eyelids etc out of the flame zone. For the baked potato I follow an ATK recipe that yields the best baked potato that I have ever had. ATK Baked Potatoes.pdf I have to say that he meal was absolutely delicious. Those are browned pancetta bits on top of the potato. They really work well with the sour cream. Tough keeping the Mrs out of them until the food is served. 🙂 Edited January 7 by ChiFlyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 On 2/28/2023 at 12:41 AM, ChiFlyer said: My preferred salt is "Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt", which I have not found available here in Thailand. I brought back several kilos on my last trip from the US in 2021, but was running low. I bought 3 lbs from a delivery service, but the price was hideous. Will not do again. I have found a few substitutes available here in Thailand, but one needs to be careful with using them as they tend to carry a much stronger salt taste. I ruined a meal while up in Kohn Kean. It was a 5 hour preparation of Shrimp Gumbo, so that hurt. If using the local coarse salt ingredients, I would say cut your salt in half and do NOT salt fried food that requires further processing. Thinking about changing my salt choice. I have used Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt for years. It is very difficult to find in Thailand. It appears that Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is available through Lazada. In looking into the product it appears that Diamond is the preferred choice over Morton's of many top cooks. https://food52.com/blog/16824-you-re-not-crazy-there-is-a-difference-between-morton-s-and-diamond-crystal The bad news is that a 26 oz box of Diamond costs 2566. Still 26 oz should last me 6 months. I will probably give it a go, as the locally available coarse salts have very heavy salt tastes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forcebwithu Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 8 hours ago, ChiFlyer said: Thinking about changing my salt choice. I have used Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt for years. It is very difficult to find in Thailand. It appears that Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is available through Lazada. In looking into the product it appears that Diamond is the preferred choice over Morton's of many top cooks. https://food52.com/blog/16824-you-re-not-crazy-there-is-a-difference-between-morton-s-and-diamond-crystal The bad news is that a 26 oz box of Diamond costs 2566. Still 26 oz should last me 6 months. I will probably give it a go, as the locally available coarse salts have very heavy salt tastes. I'll go on a shopping trip for you on my next visit back to the States. Unfortunately it looks like that won't happen until late August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fforest Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 (edited) 10 hours ago, ChiFlyer said: Thinking about changing my salt choice. I have used Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt for years. It is very difficult to find in Thailand. It appears that Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is available through Lazada. In looking into the product it appears that Diamond is the preferred choice over Morton's of many top cooks. https://food52.com/blog/16824-you-re-not-crazy-there-is-a-difference-between-morton-s-and-diamond-crystal The bad news is that a 26 oz box of Diamond costs 2566. Still 26 oz should last me 6 months. I will probably give it a go, as the locally available coarse salts have very heavy salt tastes. Have you ever tried Himalayan Pink Salt?.....I like it... https://www.lazada.co.th/products/himalayan-pink-salt-450-i1872798274-s5811742328.html? I like the black salt too... https://www.lazada.co.th/products/himalayan-black-salt-i2726304991-s9877002706.html? Edited January 15 by fforest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 3 hours ago, forcebwithu said: I'll go on a shopping trip for you on my next visit back to the States. Unfortunately it looks like that won't happen until late August. Thanks. I may be going in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 1 hour ago, fforest said: Have you ever tried Himalayan Pink Salt?.....I like it... https://www.lazada.co.th/products/himalayan-pink-salt-450-i1872798274-s5811742328.html? I like the black salt too... https://www.lazada.co.th/products/himalayan-black-salt-i2726304991-s9877002706.html? I have tried the pink salt and it has an interesting taste. I do not view it as a good choice for an all purpose salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 On 10/1/2022 at 12:16 AM, ChiFlyer said: Basque Chicken I do not know why, but I have always been interested in the Northern area of Spain called Basque. Picasso did one of his most famous paintings depicting Franko's bombing of Basque. Oh for the days of the authoritarian leaders. Holy crap that shit is happening again. Anyway, when I noticed this recipe, I decided to give it a try. The taste potential interested me more than the history. https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/78807/michel-roux-jr-basquestyle-chicken-recipe I really like this recipe. The TGF's son is visiting us while on break from Khon Kaen University. He had thirds. A few comments: Once again cut the ingredients by about 50%, or you will be eating leftovers for two weeks. For the Bell Pepper use a red one as it accents the color of the food presentation better. I used a Yellow one and the taste was good, but I think that a red bell would better serve the presentation. One tastes first with their nose and secondly with their eyes IMO. Do not worry about the special Spanish Pepper ingredient, just substitute 2 tsps of American red pepper flakes or 1 tsp of Thai crushed red pepper. Amp the amount depending on your heat preference. As usual with the chicken browning part, get the oil very hot (almost smoking) and then add the chicken (I used thighs) skin side down. About 4 minutes per side works well. Since I had an extra guest, I made two passes of the browning with 3 thighs each. Never crowd the pan for browning. For the tomatoes I will just use a 14.5 oz can of drained diced tomatoes next time. Peeling and dicing fresh tomatoes is not worth the effort in Thailand IMO. If one was in North America with a bumper crop of Summer home garden fresh tomatoes, I would use those. There is no equivalent product in Thailand. A few pics: Off of the stove Plated Basque Chicken Revisited https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/78807/michel-roux-jr-basquestyle-chicken-recipe Although I was happy with my first try at this recipe, I decided to make a few changes. Trim the chicken (6 thighs) of any overhanging skin and fat. Pad the chicken dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with Kosher Salt and Smoked Paprika as stated in the recipe. These steps will give the chicken a crispier and more flavorful skin crust. I browned the chicken in a separate stainless steel pan. I went with two batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. I used 1 TBSP total of EVOO for this step. I made sure that the EVOO was just short of smoking before adding the chicken. Skin side down first and 4 minutes per side at a medium high heat. After the chicken was browned and removed from the pan, I de-glazed the pan with 1/4 cup of white wine. I moved the Liquid from the de-glazing step over to a Dutch Oven and added 3 TBSPs more of EVOO. I then began the main recipe at the soften the red pepper strips step. I used red pepper flakes (1/2 TBSP) for the substitution for the piment d’espelette. When I added the chicken back in for the oven step, I place it on top of the underlying sauce so that it would not get mushy. I liked the way this turned out. The chicken was very tender and flavorful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 (edited) I have mentioned my "Shrimp Gumbo" dish before, but never posted directly about it here at T24x7. I prepare the Alton Brown version with a few enhancements. I made this dish tonight. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe-1946875 I like using a dark roux for this dish, so I use Brown's oven method detailed in the recipe. For a blonder roux I would use a standard stove-top prep. A dark roux can be a little trickier as it can go from almost done to scorched quickly. I had a 4 cup container of Shrimp Stock in the freezer, so I did not make a shrimp stock. The Mrs. gladly accepted all the heads etc. in order to make a stock for one of her Isan dishes. Unfortunately, I discovered that my frozen container was a little short of 4 cups. Hmmm, as Brown states in the recipe this is a dish where one needs to be exacting with the proportions. I addressed this with the tomatoes. As I have said before I am not very fond of Thai Tomatoes. In this dish and others similar to it I use a can of diced tomatoes, but drain them through a strainer. I added the drained tomato liquid to the shrimp broth along with a little water and this yielded 4 cups. I would normally use White Wine to extend a shrimp stock, but I was out. I wonder who drank all that White Wine. The original version of Brown's Gumbo is very good with a clean taste. However, I like heat and also have a Thai wife. I pumped up the heat a little. I doubled the amounts of both the cayenne and black pepper. Also, after patting the shrimp dry, I sprinkled the shrimp with a Cajun seasoning (I use Emeril Lagasse's homemade Bayou Blast) before adding them to the pot near the end. Andouille Sausage can be dicey to find in Pattaya. I buy mine online through Smokey Mountain (used to be Prime I think). They are located in Pattaya, so the delivery charge is minimal, https://smokeymountainfoods.com/product-tag/andouille-sausage/ File Powder is probably impossible to find in Pattaya. I bought mine from an online source located in Phuket. hmmm, I am running low. Just bought some more. Looks like they are now selling this item through Lazada. This is the only dish that I use File Powder, so I only bought one bottle. That should last two years. https://thaiartisanfoods.com/product/cajun-file-gumbos-cajun-stews/ A few pics. The dish turned out very well IMO and the Mrs. thought it was good as well. Edited January 28 by ChiFlyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 On 11/3/2023 at 11:02 PM, ChiFlyer said: Jerk Chicken I have been a fan of Jerk Chicken for a long time. I recently began making my own. I found the recipe at the link, which is poorly written, but just do what makes sense. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jerk-chicken-recipe0-1908640?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true&#communityReviews Changes I made to the link recipe: Scotch Bonnet peppers are not available in Thailand nor are the obvious substitute of habaneros. I need to ask the Mrs for advice on what would be good Thai substitutes. I am sure that there are plenty. The ones I picked out were not peat sufficient. I used 1/4 cup of refined sugar as opposed to 1/2 cup of raw sugar in the recipe. I find that many recipes go too heavy on the sugar. I replaced 2 TBSP of soy sauce with 2 TBSP of fish sauce I finished the chicken on a pan grill as opposed to firing up the Weber for a short blast. All in all the end product was tasty and the Mrs liked it. However, I need to do some research to come up with a better recipe and better peppers. A pic I should have pulled the chicken a little quicker from the pan grill. The black stuff was more crunch than burnt. The sugar makes the dark color form quickly. Jerk Chicken revision #3. I continue to experiment and adjust my attempts at making a Jerk Chicken dinner that I am happy with. I made another such attempt tonight. I found the results to be an improvement, but the process still needs more work. I tossed the recipe that I had been using and tried the following: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/jamaican-jerk-chicken I liked the results better, but it seemed to be missing a few things. After reading a few other Jerk Chicken recipes, I decided the next attempt would be this recipe again but I would add 1 tsp of ground cloves and a small amount of a sweetener (probably 1 TBSP Isan Honey). I may also cut back on the Allspice a little as it is dominating the taste more than I would like. Had some success with finding a better hot chilli to use in Thailand as Scotch Bonnet etc. are not available. I picked up a small packet of "Orange Cayenne" at the Little Walk VM. Spot on for what I was looking for. I would categorize this chilli as being somewhere in-between jalapeno and habanero. The Mrs used a couple in her Som Tom and really liked the taste as well. I did the chicken in the oven at 190 C for 30 minutes and temped it. Spot on at about 175 F. As usual I used chicken thighs as they are very forgiving with regard to not becoming over cooked. A well prepared Jerk Chicken should be done on the grill or at least finished on the grill in order to crisp the skins. Because I was experimenting for taste, I decided not to do this. Also grilling outside in Thailand, given the rising temperatures at this time of year, is becoming unpleasant. If and when I get to the point that I am satisfied with the taste of the Jerk marinade, I will move to finishing the chicken on a grill. Some pics of the current effort, which despite my being a curmudgeon about it, was pretty decent. The Mrs and I did like the taste of the marinade. More later, but not for a while. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 Chicken Salad Sometimes something rather simple turns out as tasting really good. I had a Chicken-Avocado Sandwich in my lineup, but wasn't all that happy with it. I searched around for Chicken Salad alternatives and decided to try this recipe. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a54787/best-chicken-salad-sandwich-recipe/ I followed the recipe exactly as stated for the salad portion as this was a first try. I decided it to serve it over a bed of lettuce as opposed to on a baguette. I have enough carbs in my diet. This worked out really well and the Mrs liked it as well. The chicken poaching step has endless options (Garlic, spices, ...). There are a lot of things one can do to pimp up the salad portion of the recipe as well. I have already decided to sprinkle in some raisins next time. Also there is a spice missing that I can not quite put my finger on. I will have to do a little more reading about Chicken Salad recipes. A pic. The slice of cranberry walnut Sourdough Bread was obtained via Lazada. I thought it was quite good, but the Mrs did not care for that option, even though she very much liked the Chicken Salad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 On 8/14/2022 at 6:09 AM, ChiFlyer said: Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta This recipe caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. It turned out very well and I will do again some day. https://yummyaddiction.com/cajun-shrimp-and-sausage-pasta-recipe/#recipe IMO the recipe is not very well written, but hey all's well that ends well. I think some of the cooking times are a little understated for the veggies and sausages. Make sure not to overcook the shrimp. Less than 2 minutes per side is about right. And make sure that the pasta is a little short of al dente, as it will cook some more in the sauce. I bought the Andouille online from Prime. It was decent. I really liked the taste on this dish. The GF liked it as well. A few pics. Finished in the pan Plated Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta - Addendum I made this dish again tonight. I decided to lightly brown (a little over 5 minutes) the Andouille Sausage before adding to the sauce as is done in Alton Brown's Shrimp Gumbo recipe. This improved the overall flavor IMO. I would show pics of tonight's preparation, but they look quite similar to the pics in the earlier post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fforest Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 (edited) On 2/11/2024 at 11:55 PM, ChiFlyer said: Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta - Addendum I made this dish again tonight. I decided to lightly brown (a little over 5 minutes) the Andouille Sausage before adding to the sauce as is done in Alton Brown's Shrimp Gumbo recipe. This improved the overall flavor IMO. I would show pics of tonight's preparation, but they look quite similar to the pics in the earlier post. Hey ChiFlyer Do you ever use a pressure cooker? When cooking.... I find beans cook so much faster and cook better too with a pressure cooker.....I cant believe pressure cookers are not more popular....I have been using mine for about a year now and I love it... Beans seem to take ages and ages to cook without a pressure cooker.... Edited February 12 by fforest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 (edited) 19 hours ago, fforest said: Hey ChiFlyer Do you ever use a pressure cooker? When cooking.... I find beans cook so much faster and cook better too with a pressure cooker.....I cant believe pressure cookers are not more popular....I have been using mine for about a year now and I love it... Beans seem to take ages and ages to cook without a pressure cooker.... Yes, I do use a pressure cooker and use it several times a month. I bought an Instant Pot through Lazada. This pot is manufactured in the US, so it is not wired for 220. They send it to the UK to be made 220 compatible and then send that on to Thailand. It was kind of pricey at about 12,000 as I recall. On the other hand I am very happy with it and do use it frequently. It has multiple settings so that it can be used as a steamer, pressure cooker, slow cooker, saute pan etc. I use it most frequently to make soups and also chicken stock. https://www.google.com/search?q=instant+pot&sca_esv=40ad471a4e6b196f&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u#spd=16157608380652506747 With regard to beans, I use canned beans. It was believed for a long time by many people that cooking your beans from scratch with dry beans was a better way to go. ATK and some others did some studies that concluded canned beans (depending on the product) was a better way to go. I can not post a link for the ATK review as one has to subscribe (pay money) to use their site these days. It did not use to be that way. I seldom follow their show anymore because of things like this. The ATK recommended product for canned beans in the US was Goya. Goya is not available in Thailand, but Bush is at VM and IMO it is a close second. The other problem with Goya for me personally is that the CEO makes pro-DaRump statements. They had an add of Invanka posing with a can. https://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-roasted-for-photo-promoting-goya-black-beans-2020-7 I am of the opinion that dry beans are just not worth the effort. Edited February 13 by ChiFlyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fforest Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 41 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said: Yes, I do use a pressure cooker and use it several times a month. I bought an Instant Pot through Lazada. This pot is manufactured in the US, so it is not wired for 220. They send it to the UK to be made 220 compatible and then send that on to Thailand. It was kind of pricey at about 12,000 as I recall. On the other hand I am very happy with it and do use it frequently. It has multiple settings so that it can be used as a steamer, pressure cooker, slow cooker, saute pan etc. I use it most frequently to make soups and also chicken stock. https://www.google.com/search?q=instant+pot&sca_esv=40ad471a4e6b196f&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u#spd=16157608380652506747 With regard to beans, I use canned beans. It was believed for a long time by many people that cooking your beans from scratch with dry beans was a better way to go. ATK and some others did some studies that concluded canned beans (depending on the product) was a better way to go. I can not post a link for the ATK review as one has to subscribe (pay money) to use their site these days. It did not use to be that way. I seldom follow their show anymore because of things like this. The ATK recommended product for canned beans in the US was Goya. Goya is not available in Thailand, but Bush is at VM and IMO it is a close second. The other problem with Goya for me personally is that the CEO makes pro-DaRump statements. They had an add of Invanka posing with a can. https://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-roasted-for-photo-promoting-goya-black-beans-2020-7 I am of the opinion that dry beans are just not worth the effort. Well cooking dry beans in a regular pot is a real drag honestly because they take so long to cook....Lots of checking re-checking stirring re stirring...It just goes on and on.... But a pressure cooker on a induction stove......Yowza.........45-55 minutes on a medium to low setting and the beans come out as good as any beans I have ever had, without any fuss......The water level needs to be at least 3/4 or the pressure cooker will steam out all the water and over cook the beans.... No soaking required.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasseye Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 I will be putting together this baby together in the crock tomorrow. Pics to follow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 (edited) Sweet and Sour Pork I tried a new dish (for me) tonight. https://pupswithchopsticks.com/sweet-and-sour-pork/ This turned out better than I was expecting for a first try. The Mrs. liked it better than I did. I saw several things in the recipe that I decided to change. I reduced the ingredients by 50% in most cases. Too much food for 2 people. The recipe calls for doing some prep and then starting the one hour long marinade. I started with the marinade and did most of the prep while the one hour marinade was taking place. Both the marinade and sauce call for 2 TBSP of soy sauce. I changed both to 1 TBSP soy sauce and 1 TBSP fish sauce. I added 1 TBSP of Sambal Oelek to the sauce for a little zing. I used Isan honey instead of sugar. I used Corn Starch instead of the recommended Potato Starch. I do not keep the later on hand and did not want to start when only one recipe that I use is calling for it. Although it probably sounds like I was dissatisfied with the author's recipe, I will say she did a lot of things right. I regard it as a good base for my methods. The use of fresh Pineapple is spot on. The two step batter method works nicely. The two step deep frying method also works well. Anyway we both like this dish and I have added it to my rotation. Some pics Edited March 1 by ChiFlyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasseye Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 (edited) Follow up pics to the Chicken/Veggie/Rice (wild rice) crock pot soup I mad in Mom's old crock pot today.... Edited March 2 by Glasseye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasseye Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 On 8/6/2022 at 3:15 AM, ChiFlyer said: Garlic-Lime Grilled Pork Tenderloin. This is a long time favorite of mine. It is an America's Test Kitchen (ATK) recipe, that is no longer available for free on the net. Garlic Lime Pork Tenderloin.pdf 334.44 kB · 0 downloads My Thai guests seem to really like this recipe. The recipe is written to be used on an American type Weber Grill. I use a Lodge Grill Pan here in Jomtien (it costs about 1200 THB on Lazada). I heat the grill pan on as high a heat as possible for at least 6 minutes, before putting the pork onto the grill. Cast iron cooking holds heat very well, but it reaches that heat slowly. A meat thermometer is a good idea for this recipe. One wants to hit the suggested 140 F degree temp as close as possible. Otherwise the pork will be over-cooked and a little tough. A pic Garlic Lime Pork Tenderloin Reboot of sorts. I changed the side dish for this recipe to Garlic Roasted Potatoes. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe-1913067 I had made this potato side dish a few months back for the first time to serve with Roast Duck for Xmas. I made a note that this potato side dish might go well with this Pork Tenderloin recipe. Well, I got one right. We had no guests for this evening so I cut everything back by 50%. The Mrs graded me at the vaunted 1++ for this prep. A few pics. The Pork Tenderloin The Garlic Potatoes Plated I probably left the spuds in the oven 5 minutes too long causing some of the garlic to burn. No problem, just scrape the blackened stuff off. It does taste bitter, if one does not do this. A few pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasseye Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 5 hours ago, ChiFlyer said: Garlic Lime Pork Tenderloin Reboot of sorts. I changed the side dish for this recipe to Garlic Roasted Potatoes. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe-1913067 I had made this potato side dish a few months back for the first time to serve with Roast Duck for Xmas. I made a note that this potato side dish might go well with this Pork Tenderloin recipe. Well, I got one right. We had no guests for this evening so I cut everything back by 50%. The Mrs graded me at the vaunted 1++ for this prep. A few pics. The Pork Tenderloin The Garlic Potatoes Plated I probably left the spuds in the oven 5 minutes too long causing some of the garlic to burn. No problem, just scrape the blackened stuff off. It does taste bitter, if one does not do this. A few pics. You can't beat any lemon/garlic combo of flavor. And.... I like crispy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 (edited) Tortilla Pizza This is a no mess - no fuss quickie that is on the table in 1/2 hour and tastes surprisingly good. https://www.splashoftaste.com/tortilla-pizza/ The author wrote this to be veg. I declined to do so. The pizza sauce and pepperoni that are available on Lazada are both quite tasty. Pizza Sauce Pepperoni I bought Mission Tortillas and Pizza Cheese at Villa Market. I grated some Pecorino Romano to use instead of Parm. I baked the pizza in the oven for 6 minutes at 220 C. The longest part of the prep is waiting for the oven to come to temp. Do not use a heavy amount of the pizza sauce or you will have soggy pizzas. For a 10 inch tortilla a little over 2 TBSP of sauce works well. Make sure to let the pizza cool for a few minutes coming out of the oven, or you will burn your mouth with the molten cheese. This is harder to do than it sounds as the pizza smells really good. Both the Mrs and I got singed. Surprisingly, she really liked the pizza and she is normally not a fan. Edited March 25 by ChiFlyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 (edited) On 8/28/2022 at 11:11 PM, ChiFlyer said: Seared Scallop Pasta Tried a new recipe tonight. Actually, I merged two recipes to come up with a version that I liked. In reading the main pasta recipe I noticed that the scallop searing part was at odds with a seared scallop recipe that I had faith in. The searing times in the pasta recipe were just too long. I instead seared the scallops with Alton Brown's recipe. I went a little longer than Mr. Brown's recommended 90 seconds per side and regretted doing so. The scallops were a little over cooked. Still decent enough, but could could have been better. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/seared-scallops-recipe-1916984 I then switched over to the pasta recipe, making one significant change. Instead of adding 1/4 cup of pasta water, I added 1/2 cup of white wine. I also increased the garlic and hit the finished product with a decent shot of freshly ground black peppercorns. I liked the result. https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/pan-seared-scallops-pasta/#wprm-recipe-container-5826 Coming off of the stove. Plated Mr. Brown differentiates between Dry and Wet scallops. I think I had the dry ones, as they fit the description. One wants to use dry if possible https://fishex.com/scallops/wet-vs-dry Scallops are hard to find around Bang Lamung. I found some Japanese ones on Lazada. I have also seen some in the frozen seafood area in Central Festival. The Lazada package only had 7 scallops, so you might want to order 2 packages. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/190-210-g-natural-coast-japanese-scallop-sashimi-grade-fooddeehub-i2114294445-s7101582479.html?clickTrackInfo=query%3Ascallops%3Bnid%3A2114294445%3Bsrc%3ALazadaMainSrp%3Brn%3A0bd093cd969045e40cc5a26ad05e8b3a%3Bregion%3Ath%3Bsku%3A2114294445_TH%3Bprice%3A495.00%3Bclient%3Adesktop%3Bsupplier_id%3A100183992064%3Basc_category_id%3A14127%3Bitem_id%3A2114294445%3Bsku_id%3A7101582479%3Bshop_id%3A1582169&search=1&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i40.5b982412vsvNvc The somewhat humorous thing about this adventure, is that I made this dish because the GF likes scallops. She came down with a bit of a stomach problem (too much papaya salad the day before I suspect) and could not even sit at a table smelling cooked seafood. Seared Scallop Pasta - Revisited Some of the younger family members of the Mrs are in town as they are on their Songkran school breaks. We had them over today and I made a large batch of Seared Scallops Pasta accompanied by a large Salad, and some garlic bread. It was a nice time between pool time and the dinner that I prepared being well received. One of the taller younger guys used some black putty to try to address the damage to a few tiles on the reflection wall by my pool. Worked out pretty well. Looks much better. I still have to have a guy run a new line across the top to feed the water more evenly. That contractor is busy with another job, so that will most likely be after Songkran. I am posting this mainly to show the food pics. A couple of points about the recipe: I have discovered that the Little Walk Villa Market has frozen scallops that are not bad. I usually buy them a few weeks before I am planning on using them because they may be unavailable on any given day. These can be found in the frozen section directly in front of the butcher area. In the previous post I said I went a little past Alton Brown's 90 second per side rule for the scallops and they were a bit over cooked. This time I did exactly the 90 seconds and they were a tad under cooked. I left myself a note to do 2 minutes next time. Raising the heat would also address this, but risks burning the fat. I also went a little Plain Jane this time as I was unsure as to how my guests would like this dish. I used pasta water as the thinner instead of wine. I also did not finish with ground black peppercorns. It went well. The crew bagged up the leftover pasta and salad and took it back to their condo. Oh, I made a homemade vinaigrette for the salad. The link below lists 8 ways of making vinaigrette. Better than store bought IMO and can be done in minutes. https://www.food.com/recipe/basic-vinaigrette-dressing-with-8-variations-213989 Pics Pasta Salad - I cut everything up in the Morning, covered with plastic wrap, kept in the fridge, made the vinaigrette in the Morning as well, but did not dress the salad until meal time. The salad was made up of Cos lettuce, Sliced Red Onion that was soaked in water for 15 minutes, a diced Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Mushrooms, a few sliced radishes, and some crumpled Feta Cheese. Some packaged Garlic Bread from VM. I went about 30 seconds too long on the broiling step. 2 minutes and 30 seconds for next time. Still zero leftovers. Plated Edited April 7 by ChiFlyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 (edited) On 9/22/2023 at 10:55 PM, ChiFlyer said: Chicken Cordon Bleu I have always been a fan of this dish, so I decided to give it a try. I used the following recipe. https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/golden-chicken-cordon-bleu/ This was my first ever attempt at this recipe. I am giving myself a B+ for flavor and a D- for presentation. I served it with some zucchini. The problem with the presentation was I did not do a very good job of rolling the chicken breast up around the filings. I need some practice on that. Still the Mrs really liked it and I will say that despite the messiness it tasted pretty good. Anyway a pic. Chicken Cordon Bleu - 2nd Attempt I made Chicken Cordon Bleu tonight. The result was much better presentation wise than my first attempt. The Mrs really liked it. Here are some items that I think led to the improvement. I butterflied the chicken breast before pounding it out. A butterfly cut of this nature needs to be done carefully. One wants to cut to within about 1/2 inch of the other side, but not all the way though. The breast should open up like a book. What works for me is to cut slowly and stop and check progress along the way. Pound the butterflied breast a little gently with the mallet. Really the point is do not smash it hard or else you may tear the breast and it will not roll well. Pounded out breasts will vary some in size. If you find that the ham and chees are crowding the edge, cut off some of the ham and cheese. Roll slowly and get the ends tucked in. Have your toothpicks at the ready. Edited April 12 by ChiFlyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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