I imagine with a lot of you stuck at home you've had some time to put together some extravagant meals or try out some new recipes. Let's hear it, what worked, what didn't?


Yesterday I tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe and it was tremendous. Found it on this show on HULU. forgot the name of the show, but each ep is only 6-8 minutes long. Its some lady or just her hands actually cooking stuff. There's an ep on making the perfect steak, on how to fry food, how to cook fish, rice, cakes, you name it. I watched one about making the perfect chocolate chip cookie and it did not disappoint.

She had me doing some things I never tried before while making cookies. 2 different kinds of flour, APF and cake flour. Dark brown sugar and white sugar, double the vanilla and salt I usually use. Had me brown the butter. Chocolate chips and a chocolate bar cut up with a serrated knife into little chunks. Less flour than I usually use. And here was the kicker, a tsp of espresso powder (the Hershey kiss of the chocolate chip cookie game).

Lady wasn't lying, they were among the best I've ever had. My only issue is i think I used too much chocolate chips. Recipe calls for 12oz and I used a 12oz bag and a 4oz bar. So tried to only use 2/3 of the bag to even it out. Probably should've used only half the bag just for a bit more balance.

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Let's see...

Made a roast beef, twice baked potatoes, roasted asparagus with hollandaise...went over like gangbusters...nothing left.

Taco tuesday has become a thing...beef the first week, carnitas last week, chicken tomorrow

We bought a deep fryer...that has become a thing. Had burgers and fries last week. Made onion rings yesterday.

Made french onion beef sandwiches yesterday...that was more assembly than anything difficult.

Ribs in the smoker probably Wednesday this week. I've definitely been more creative with stuff, though

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I've been experimenting with sauces, mainly trying to figure out the best thickening method. There seems to be four main techniques:

1. Reduction: this is just simmering the sauce until the desired amount of liquid evaporates.
2. Corn starch slurry: a mixture of corn starch and water added to the sauce until it reaches the desired thickness.
3. Beurre manie: an equal amount of butter and flour, kneaded together and then added to the sauce.
4. Roux: an equal amount of fat and flour, first cooked in a pan, into which the sauce liquid is then slowly added.

I've started trying #3, as the added fat makes the sauce richer, and seems easier than #4.

Any sauce experts willing to share their secrets?

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just cook the roux in a small pan until it develops a bit of color and then take it out of the pan so it doesn't keep cooking.

very simple. uncooked, the flour has kind of a raw doughy flavor. cooked the butter & flour combine for a nice toasty roasty aroma.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

We've done 3 & 4 for years when making gravy...I personally prefer 3.

Also, I prefer the corn starch slurry over a flour slurry...I've always had better results.

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Destroyed my kitchen to make coq au vin for the first time in a few years. Very worth it.

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you're supposed to kill the rooster before putting it in the pot.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Were they flat and crisp?

A corn starch slurry is a quick and predictable alternative to a reduction if you are cooking a liquid that is already pungent or intense. It's used a lot in Chinese food. It's more about thickening, not changing the flavor so much. It's also a lot cheaper than reducing a bottle of wine down to a quarter cup of sauce. You can usually save a slurry by tinkering with it, you lose track of a reduction and it's just fucked.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

no. Not very puffy, but not flat either. If I had to categorize it I would say more flat than puffy. And definitely not crisp, but I'll try them again today now that they're not fresh out of the oven. I threw a bunch in the fridge as well which is how i prefer them.

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So after you brown the butter do you return it to room temp?

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

yes, put it in a measuring cup and let it sit there for a long time. Then added a little water to get it back to 1 cup since some of the butter cooked off.

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I'm focusing on some basics. Today it's just letting a diced onion and some olive oil saute for a while. I'm cheating and using a non-stick pan, because I don't feel like opening a beer to deglaze. I'm slowly building up to making my own yogurt based dip, using Aldi 32 cent yogurt cups. And I need the skillet to fry up a stack of Morningstar black bean and corn patties for part of my lunch.

I have a head of cauliflower that I need to use up. Last week I used a Tikka masala sauce to saute it down. This week I'm cutting half of it to add to some carrots and cheese for the second half of my lunch, and the rest I'm sauteeing in some leftover spaghetti sauce with some parmesan cheese as I don't have any feta in the house. That'll go in the freezer.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

That makes sense. I think that's why spaulding asked if they were thin and crispy. There aren't very many cookie recipes that work with a liquid or hot fat. I think pizzelles maybe. I have some anise cookie recipe I jacked from my Mother-in-Law that uses olive oil.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

Yeah if butter or fat is too warm or liquidy the cookies would spread quickly moisture would bake out. If you like a chewy cookie shortening can be added because it has a higher melting point. Butter will always add the best flavor and mouth feel. It's interesting. I might try adding browned butter with some room temp butter next time I make mine. I think the flavor would be good but I'm having trouble conceptualizing separating the butterfat from the milk solids and how that would change the creaming process. I took a great baking science class last semester. The different combinations or amounts of things and how they affect the final product is fascinating to me. It's really cool when you are able to achieve what you like.

I've found the most utility I've gotten out of my Instant Pot thus far is cooking Chinese (oh, the delicious irony) ... particularly Mongolian Beef.

I think part of that is b/c when I first got it I didn't know quite what to make with it and it was like cooking in a new 'language', so to speak. I went with Chinese b/c I'd never made any at home previously so, without any comps, I wouldn't be able to fall back on any habits or preconceived ideas on how to prepare it ... just follow along the recipes as-is and get a baseline that way.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

You should have seen his tenderizing technique

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Just got my Dinnerly shipment in today, food looks good, nothing spoiled. I'll start this week, I am freaking out a bit because it's all package in NY. I basically bleached the shit on the outer box.

Well ... what'd you get?

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Haven't really been doing anything new or super crazy, but I have been grilling a lot more.

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Pepper Steak
Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
(Don) Lemon Pepper Chicken

Actually I kinda take that back. I generally eat leftovers for lunches, but during this time I simply refuse to throw anything away outside of scraps my son may leave. I've been baking banana bread and muffins. Pretty easy and they have turned out well.

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I've used all methods.

Growing up we always had a can of Wondra in the cabinet. It's special flour for gravy and sauce that doesn't clump.

I need to work on my sauces too.

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Last night I fired up the grill.

Skirt steak with Montreal Steak seasoning

Couple little lobster tails i found in the bottom of the freezer

Veggie burgers

Couple hot dogs


We have many varied palates in the house.

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I grill year round but have been doing it more often. Nothing crazy or out of the ordinary yet. My plan this week is to take everything out and scrape the grill down clean. I bought new flavorizing bars for the Weber end of last year but will put them in this week. I need to put a new gas tank on as well.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Yesterday we did Steaks sous vide.....I can't believe I've been missing this tool my whole life. Amazing.

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Have you considered a vacuum sealer?

Instead of choking down that last portion or two of ... whatever ... get 'er sealed up and in a couple weeks/months down the road you get a taste for it again, it'll save you time and effort and you'll be happy to eat it.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Oh ... yeah ... the Instant Pot has a sous vide function ... slow, but amazing results.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

My neighbor dropped off a massive tomahawk ribeye a couple weeks ago.

I used the reverse sear method.

It's better for steaks than sous vide. You get a better crust.

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