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Who are you going to turn to
In these times of stress and uncertainty? Well for me, I have decided to put my hope for sanity into the wise, simple instructions on how to create succulent comfort food by America’s best chef, Chef John, at allrecipes.com. Last week Mrs. Pessimist suggested that since I liked to cook and had plenty of time on my hands, why not try a new recipe for dinner every night. Our freezer is well stocked and we have more bottles of sauces and seasonings than I can fit into my pantry. So each day I decide what meat I will thaw and then search through allrecipes to find something new that has 5 star reviews and fits with the ingredients I have on hand. More often than not, I find myself turning to Chef John’s recipes. Using an online recipe source with reviews is critical. There are many more ways to screw up a meal than Paul Simon has to leave his lover. Chef John’s recipes and videos are truly amazing. Why not create a memorable meal each night? As the wise man asks “ what have you got to lose”?
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Aw, come on! Tell us what you have made!
Chef John’s smothered pork chops are fantastic. I didn’t have buttermilk but followed a reviewer’s suggestion and used sour cream in the gravy. Tonight I cooked Vietnamese lamb chops ( not from Chef John) which were outstanding. In the comments one reviewer noted that he was a Vietnamese immigrant but he didn’t remember many sheep in Vietnam but he liked the recipe. I turned a boneless lamb roast into a Scotsman’s shepherd pie that was incredible. I made baked ziti using sour cream and Parmesan cheese beneath a meaty marinara sauce instead of ricotta cheese. I tried to make a gluten free moo goo gai pan but because of what I had on hand turned into a pretty good garlic chicken with somewhat Chinese vegetables.
Oh, man, have you seen his recent pizza rustica video and recipe?
I actually don’t bother with the recipes, I just wing it. Like you, I am celiac, but I also have other allergies, so have problems with most “gluten-free” products. I also didn’t have the type of pan he did. I made mine in a 14″ deep-dish pizza pan. That gave a lot bigger recipe, probably at least twice the size. (I found that I didn’t have a bowl large enough for the filling, so I did it in two shifts. That’s how much I was making.)
For the crust, I used grits. I have various forms of grits, since corn is the only type of grain I can eat, and they can make a decent, if slightly odd and weak crust. So, I used hominy, yellow corn, and blue corn grits, a cup of each, cooked in about nine cups of water/broth. Cook it until it’s good and thick. Spread it in the pan, and then refrigerate it for at least half an hour. That helps the grits congeal even more. Then I used the bottom of a bowl to help spread the grits more evenly on the bottom and sides and even up to form an interior rim.
Then I put in the filling. I used about seven types of cheese, including ricotta and fresh mozzarella, Gouda, cheddar, etc. Meats: ham, salami, pepperoni, smoked sausage, and breakfast sausage. Veggies: mushrooms and green bell pepper. And of course, the eggs. Because my pan was larger, I wound up using a dozen eggs instead of the seven he mentions.
With a different pan configuration and size, I baked it for 45 minutes at 375, and then added the top crust before another 45 minutes at 350.
For the top crust, I fanned out six or seven corn tortillas around the top and then spread over grated Swiss cheese. When I do it again, I will probably butter the tortillas and wait for the last fifteen minutes to add the Swiss.
Came out very, very well, and I still have two meals’ worth in the fridge for tomorrow and Thursday.
What?!! No bat soup?
You racist b@stard!
OK.. Seriously I agree. Chef John (allrecipes.com) has become one of my go-to sites for preparing anything, even old familiars like pot roast. His catalogue of recipes is so extensive that I would not be entirely surprised if actually does have a bat soup recipe.
Maybe I should just search the site for Wuhan Flu Stew…
He has an amazing chicken mustard casserole. When I had that the first time, it was the best chicken dish I had every had. And I’ve had a lot of chicken. We spend considerable time over on the ‘Food Wishes’ Youtube channel watching is quirky and delicious videos. Printed off two of them just yesterday!
L.O.V.E. enjoy your holy quest.
Thanks for sharing.
Recipe/cooking websites are one of the wonderful features of modern life. Allrecipes.com is great (although the ads are pretty intrusive), and as you say the reviews are as essential as the main recipes. My other go-tos are FoodNetwork.com, theKitchn.com, and CookingIsMessy.com. All of these are full of interesting, creative, flexible recipes that aren’t terribly complicated. This is the key for me–I love cooking but I can’t stand fiddly recipes that require 37 ingredients and 104 steps to complete.
@arahant, this sounds like it should win some sort of award for density. How much did this sucker weigh??
Umm, a lot. I didn’t weigh it, and there are only two pieces left at this point. I am sure that it was above ten pounds, maybe above twenty. By the time we finished, I’m guessing we got twenty servings out of it. We usually get fourteen servings out of that pan, but it was piled higher and denser, so I had to cut smaller pieces.
Chef John is a pleasure to listen to.
Yes, and we know how much @drewinwisconsin loves the sing-song presentation.
I couldn’t recall what this was about, so I looked up the guy on YouTube, and gave one a listen.
Yup. It’s that rising and falling infection in every sentence. It burns it way into your brain. It’s sort of like how The Song of Hiawatha’s trochaic tetrameter sticks in your head and threatens to drive you mad. I believe such things are outlawed by the Geneva Convention.