Cooking

[Catt]

I'm the chief cook & bottle washer in our home!

 

I plan the meals, buy the groceries, prepare the meals.

 

I can cook anything but my specialty is Cajun cooking.

 

Tonight's menu

Smothered pork chops

Rice & gravy

Black eye peas with ham hocks 

Cornbread 

Sweet tea

Simple strawberry sauce over sponge cake cups

 

My #1 recipe is Cajun Dirty Rice (Rice Dressing) ?

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

I'm the chief cook & bottle washer in our home!

 

I plan the meals, buy the groceries, prepare the meals.

 

I can cook anything but my specialty is Cajun cooking.

 

Tonight's menu

Smothered pork chops

Rice & gravy

Black eye peas with ham hocks 

Cornbread 

Sweet tea

Simple strawberry sauce over sponge cake cups

 

My #1 recipe is Cajun Dirty Rice (Rice Dressing) ?

Catt, that all sounds delicious! 

[slonezp]

I grill all the time. The key to grilling is low and slow...ain't that right @lo n slo ?

[jimmyjoe]

   My wife is a fantastic cook. I drive her absolutely bonkers because I look at a recipe, write a list of the general ingredients, then start throwing things together .... literally. It almost always (almost!) comes out good, but it NEVER comes out the same way twice.    ???    

   She says my specialty is lasagna. I don't see it. I think my specialty is Chicken Chili .... with a side of Rolaids.  ?   Second place is Woodcutter's Steak.   jj

    

[CountryboyinDC]

23 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

do they have good food in the military?

The conventional Army has some of the worst food outside of school cafeterias, it's a "one meat, one starch, make a sandwich out of it" type of deal.  The Air Force doesn't even clear their own trays, in many cases and I've only heard about Navy food, but supposed it's world better.  The Ranger Regiment's DFAC (cafeteria) NCO competed on Iron Chef.  That was one of the few benefits of being at the battalion right there at the flagpole in Ft. Benning.  The food was pretty incredible, especially considering it costed less that $2 for breakfast.

[jimmyjoe]

7 minutes ago, Catt said:

Black eye peas with ham hocks 

 

   Hocks .... or shanks?     jj

[GReb]

Made a pot of red beans and rice tonight. 

[Catt]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   Hocks .... or shanks?     jj

 

Hocks  ?

 

8 minutes ago, slonezp said:

I grill all the time. The key to grilling is low and slow...ain't that right @lo n slo ?

 

The key to cooking is low & slow...well that & cast iron.

[slonezp]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   My wife is a fantastic cook. I drive her absolutely bonkers because I look at a recipe, write a list of the general ingredients, then start throwing things together .... literally. It almost always (almost!) comes out good, but it NEVER comes out the same way twice.    ???    

   She says my specialty is lasagna. I don't see it. I think my specialty is Chicken Chili .... with a side of Rolaids.  ?   Second place is Woodcutter's Steak.   jj

    

Chicken chili?

I made some turkey chili recently using my venison chili recipe. Turned out pretty good. If you have to revert to Rolaids, after you make your chili, there is something wrong with your chili recipe. 

[gim]

I do most of the cooking in our house. Since mid March, I’ve done virtually all of it because I’ve been working remotely (mandatory). I’ve also been doing 100% of the grocery shopping the past 2 months so that helps plan meals I intend to make. Today I made a pork shoulder in the crockpot with Lipton onion seasoning and a can of cream of mushroom soup. I also threw in a cut up potato. Turned out well, I could cut it with a fork at dinner. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth so I don’t really bake items.

[slonezp]

Just now, Catt said:

 

Hocks  ?

 

 

The key to cooking is low & slow...well that & cast iron.

Did you miss my patty melt post recently?

[VolFan]

I do virtually all of the cooking and grocery shopping in our house, and, like Flyfisher, it's gotten less complex with a 10 year old around. I both cook and bake, and I've been cranking out sourdough doughnuts and bread and english muffins during these Covid times. My mom was s nurse and my dad worked 16 hour days 6 days a week so Ive been cooking since before I could reach the countertop. My first job in and out of college were waiting tables and line cooking. I've worked in a national chain and a five star dining room. It's a fascinating thing to do and being southern, its in the fabric of how to treat people well.

[Mobasser]

3 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Hocks  ?

 

 

The key to cooking is low & slow...well that & cast iron.

I'm with you guys on the hocks and beans, especially in colder weather. With some cornbread too. Hard to beat!

[jimmyjoe]

1 minute ago, slonezp said:

. If you have to revert to Rolaids, after you make your chili, there is something wrong with your chili recipe. 

 

   the "Rolaids" comment was kind of a joke. I like things spicy, but other people in the extended family are sometimes not so tolerant. In 40-some years of cooking, I've come to find out that there are some people who absolutely and incontrovertibly cannot stand heat.    jj

[Mobasser]

5 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Chicken chili?

I made some turkey chili recently using my venison chili recipe. Turned out pretty good. If you have to revert to Rolaids, after you make your chili, there is something wrong with your chili recipe. 

Well, at 62, it kind of pays to keep a few Rolaids handy. I like hot sauce on stuff too. My favourite is Zatarains Cajun hot sauce. It's not too hot, but seems just right. I especially like a few shots on some fried crappie fillets.

[slonezp]

Just now, jimmyjoe said:

 

   the "Rolaids" comment was kind of a joke. I like things spicy, but other people in the extended family are sometimes not so tolerant. In 40-some years of cooking, I've come to find out that there are some people who absolutely and incontrovertibly cannot stand heat.    jj

Chili doesn't have to be hot. It has to be good. I love hot. The recipe I use has just enough hot in it. Takes 6-8 hours to make. All about cooking it slow.

[Armtx77]

Cheese gritts with two poached eggs and a crawfish sauce...a couple of crawfiah tails too.

[slonezp]

3 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

Well, at 62, it kind of pays to keep a few Rolaids handy. I like hot sauce on stuff too. My favourite is Zatarains Cajun hot sauce. It's not too hot, but seems just right. I especially like a few shots on some fried crappie fillets.

I'm 50. I know what I can and cannot eat. Hot has nothing to do with it. It's about the ph level or lack there of. Haven't had Zatarans hot sauce, but it is my goto breading for deep frying fish.

[Mobasser]

2 minutes ago, Armtx77 said:

Cheese gritts with two poached eggs and a crawfish sauce...a couple of crawfiah tails too.

Grits are something that are really good also. We make them.at home, sometimes for breakfast with a little maple syrup or just butter. Looks good! We've got some real chefs around here.

[jimmyjoe]

5 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

I'm with you guys on the hocks and beans,

 

   When I was a kid, Dad would butcher a hog every year. Mom would NOT use hocks. Only shanks. I guess that attitude has held over on me even after all these years, and I still use shanks, but not hocks. I'll be 70 next year; funny how things from so long ago can stick with you for so long.   ?    jj

[Mobasser]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   When I was a kid, Dad would butcher a hog every year. Mom would NOT use hocks. Only shanks. I guess that attitude has held over on me even after all these years, and I still use shanks, but not hocks. I'll be 70 next year; funny how things from so long ago can stick with you for so long.   ?    jj

I can do either one, but I think hocks may be a little better, at least for me.

[CountryboyinDC]

14 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

Mom would NOT use hocks. Only shanks.

We hillbillies used hocks and almost every part of the pig but the squeal.  My granddad blew up the bladder and tried to tell me it was just like a balloon.  I still use hocks for collards (made some last night) or black-eyed peas.  I use smoked turkey necks too, but hocks are better.  I buy my son's balloons at the grocery store, though.

[Mobasser]

I was able to make a homemade pecan pie at Thanksgiving. It was the first one I ever made, and turned out good. It's always been my favourite pie

[Catt]

56 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Did you miss my patty melt post recently?

 

In Louisiana you ain't considered a cook if you don't own cast iron!

 

51 minutes ago, Armtx77 said:

a couple of crawfiah tails too

 

Couple crawfish tails? 

 

Who you feeding with just a couple crawfish tails? 

 

That's simply cruel! ?

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

 

In Louisiana you ain't considered a cook if you don't own cast iron!

 

 

Couple crawfish tails? 

 

Who you feeding with just a couple crawfish tails? 

 

That's simply cruel! ?

Catt, I think cast iron is still the best for most cooking. I have a small collection of skillets, pot, and a Dutch oven. It retains the heat, when it reaches the right temperature.  When I cook at home, that's mostly what I use.