https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d8b408531d.jpg

Let's keep this thread going strong....

Tonight did something inspired by my BJJ coach and a recipe from Tasty - a seafood boil..... that was baked ! Ahha... you didn't expect that, did you? This earned me some major points with wife, good Karma :)

Anyway, first the spices:
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp Onion powder
1 1/4 thyme
1/2 red pepper flakes
1 tsp cayene
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Mix spices


Next
4-6 popatoes
2 corn cut
2 garlic cloves pressed or as paste
1 TBSP Oil
1/2 TBSP mix above
1 TBSP butter

Put in a glass or porcelain cookware and bake at 375* 25-30 min depending on how big your potato chunks are.

Attachment 236673

Next


4 andouille sausages
1 lb shrimp
2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
1 TBSP oil
1 TBSP spice mixed in

Add to corn and potatoes, continue baking at 375* for 15 min

Attachment 236674


Remove from oven, sprinkle parsley, a few drops of lemon juice... EAT! This thing is SOOOOO delicious, I'm going to cook this a lot.


Attachment 236675

Attachment 236676

Parents were given some ground venison, so I made venison burgers. First attempt I made the parties WAY too thick -- turns out, venison doesn't shrink nearly as much as beef.

I dumped a bunch of stuff in the venison to hide the gamey flavor and it worked. Garlic powder, onion powder, pepper jack cheese, mustard, and some other stuff I'm forgetting. Pan fry in butter.

Pic of first attempt:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5401a4549a.jpg

Second attempt, much better, plus I added an egg and passed on the substandard lettuce. Also, I usually spread a bit of mayo on the bun before toasting. First time I made a rookie mistake and put it on the bottom bun, then toasted, then set the burger on top -- bottom bun became too greasy. Second run, just toasted bottom bun with nothing on it (aside from some of the grease on the pan) and it was much better.

Second attempt, in process and completed:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...401eb30375.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...76e7ed63bb.jpg

This was up there with the best burgers I've ever had. May have been THE best.

Damn these photos could use some editing to make them less weirdly shaped. Oh well.

It’s been a while since I had venison but we used to mix 20% (approx) ground pork sausage in with the venison when grinding it. 1. Took a bit of the gamey taste away and added a bit of fat to it keeping it from drying out.

That sounds like a good idea. I don't know if they did that with this but I doubt it.

It definitely had no problems with being dry, but the flavor of the sausage would have been nice. Overall was very happy how this came out regardless, wouldn't change a thing.

Venison burger I posted on the last page had 40% pork in it. It's almost always done during processing.

Advice time!

My grandmother, a few times per year, sends me this amazing sharp white cheddar cheese from the University of Wisconsin (where she went to college), it's a really outstanding cheese. It's a dense, hard very flavorful cheese, really delicious. I'm thinking tonight instead of making a fancy dinner, I'm going to go grab 1 or 10 bottles of wine and put together a nice charcuterie plate to snack on with wine and movies for dinner.

What would you put on your board?

Buns, grilled burgers, sauteed in butter mushrooms.... :giggle:

cornichons
liver pate
spicy jam (goes well with cheese)
crackers or sliced fresh baguette
pimento olives
marinated artichoke hearts
marinated mushrooms

Call me an upcountry degen, I can't stand mushrooms. Especially not desecrating a burger.

That reminds me, I need to buy a new grill for outside. The little cheap charcoal one we bought to get us through last year is absolutely abysmal.

Depending on your needs and budget, some great off the shelf options:

Lodge Sportsman (small, table-top usable charcoal cast iron grill)
Weber Genesis (gas) or Kettle (charcoal)

I've got Weber Genesis that i bought 10 years ago and it sits outside - it looks like new, no rust, works great and i use it all the time. Just clean the grates and cover it until next use.

Ooohhhh thanks for the suggestions! I definitely want a gas grill for the ease of it. I'm going to have my local HVAC company come to the house in a few weeks and give me a quote for running a gas line to the patio area so I don't to worry about propane tanks.

Any and all gas grill suggestions are welcomed.

Maybe this is what I need to do to solve the searing dilemma. Not a Lodge, but a tiny little charcoal Hibachi.

Tonight, simple but delicious:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...46eb03a2f0.png



For two servings:

3/4 lb chicken breasts, coarsely chopped. Toss with Greek seasoning blend. Cook in a pan with olive oil over medium-high heat for 7-9 minutes, depending on thickness. Flip a couple of times until slightly browned.

The base is 1 cup pearl couscous, prepared per package directions. Once done, toss in one diced roma tomato, 3-4 minced pepperoncini, 1 tbs olive oil, and a dash of pepper. Mix well.

The sauce is 2/3 cup greek yogurt with 1 small cucumber shredded in the cheese grater.

Top with crumbled Feta cheese.

Technically not "home" or even "my kids" but my wife is the exec director of the org that put this on:

Sorry for I am not l33t to embed. nor do I have time to dick around with it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/br2dy81dr6...9_22.18.08.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pl5ppvmfwa...9_07.05.38.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mz3oeyyax...9_07.35.43.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8nq87pom4...9_23.07.17.mp4


Yall should donate to her org so your kids wont be eating greezy peeza. or maybe amazon smile it.

www.realfoodforkids.org

Educate me on Air Fryers. I just heard about these today.

Counter top convection oven.


When i buy a new stove at some point, i'm getting a convection oven.

Seeing this makes me think back to the "food" which we were served when I was in school.

Funny that you mentioned the greasy pizza. That was a weekly thing for us back at Charlotte High. It was spongy and flavorless. Hardly distinguishable from a slice of white bread topped with ketchup and something which vaguely resembled cheese. I assume that the school board paid around 8¢ per serving, in bulk, from whichever supplier the school board of Calcutta deemed not quite up to their standards.

There were the perfectly-formed chicken patties, the perfectly-formed beef patties, the perfectly-formed "Salisbury steak" patties, and so on. All of them served with a side of either tater tots or something which was once a vegetable with dreams and ambitions beyond being boiled into mush and then salted to hell. And a bread roll. Always a bread roll, even when the main was the aforementioned pizza-like substance. I'm pretty sure they bought those bread rolls on an annual contract by the million. It's a testament to the robustness of the human body that any of us survived the Charlotte County public school system.

Basically nothing at all which more more than a superficial resemblance to actual food.

Ever watch Jamie's School Dinners? I'm not a big Jamie Oliver fan (I think he's kind of a douchebag), but I really respected that effort. Ditto Jamie's Ministry of Food and Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. All of them confronted the miserable state of mainstream industrial food-production and consumption in a way which, while ultimately ineffective at creating long-term change, was none the less insightful and inspiring.

I found a decent one at home depot. Ordered it, delivery ETA is for tomorrow, if I dont like i'll just return it to the store.