Food Experiments

[Jeff V]

Tonight I attempted to make a healthier pizza crust. My normal recipe is a basic focaccia that stretches to fill the cookie sheet and cooks up to a 1/4" thickness with a crisp bottom. Today, instead of using all-purpose flour, I used 4 parts gluten-free flour and 1 part ground flax seed.

Fail.

The mixture was too dense for the yeast to do anything. The lack of gluten meant the dough could not be stretched to fill the cookie sheet. A roller pin did the trick. but the crust was dense, cracker-crispy on the edges but not crispy at all on most of it, where the toppings sat. Wife thought it was okay, I didn't think it had much flavor (in spite of adding a lot of herbs and spices). I think I'll go back to my normal recipe...pizza is far too important, and since my wife got here, far to rare to risk on silly experiments.

Anyone else have an experiment gone horribly wrong?

[LawBeefaroni]

If you want to go healthier but don't require gluten free, just use whole wheat flour. And try a stone or perforated cookie sheet. Pizza is, as you put it, far too important for a regular cookie sheet.

As for experiments, the first time I'm usually the guinea pig flying solo and I'll try most anything. Gives me time to fine tune the recipe before subjecting anyone else to it.





Let me think...I guess it was kind of touch and go with the Whopper Cristo. I probably should have taken off the lettuce and a bunch of the mayo. Never did revisit that one.

[Daehawk]

My last pizza experiment was to order a pan pizza then at home ad jalapeno, red pepper flakes, and Tabasco red....it turned out well

[Blackhawk]

Peanut butter, jelly, and pickles. It has to be strawberry jelly, and it has to be sweet pickle relish.

I thought it up when I was about five. My mother had the predictable reaction, but I was insistent. She agreed to make it, but only if I ate the whole thing. I did. I continued to request it for lunches as one of my favorite sandwiches.

Now I'm 40. I still make them, and have introduced my kids to them as well - they won't eat peanut butter now unless it has jelly and pickles. It is one of those foods that sounds awful, but actually works out great.

[Daehawk]

You've been pregnant for 35 years?

[Kraken]

I don't experiment much. I make a recipe verbatim the first time, then I riff on it until I'm satisfied. But I have so many new recipes backlogged that I rarely strike out on my own.

[tgb]

Peanut butter, jelly, and pickles. It has to be strawberry jelly, and it has to be sweet pickle relish.

I thought it up when I was about five. My mother had the predictable reaction, but I was insistent. She agreed to make it, but only if I ate the whole thing. I did. I continued to request it for lunches as one of my favorite sandwiches.

Now I'm 40. I still make them, and have introduced my kids to them as well - they won't eat peanut butter now unless it has jelly and pickles. It is one of those foods that sounds awful, but actually works out great.

I was introduced to the peanut butter/sweet pickle sandwich by an ex-girlfriend many many years ago. I've never tried it will jelly, but that does sound good.

[Jeff V]

If you want to go healthier but don't require gluten free, just use whole wheat flour. And try a stone or perforated cookie sheet. Pizza is, as you put it, far too important for a regular cookie sheet.

I'm testing the theory that gluten is responsible for an aching knee and elbow that has been keeping me up all night. Also, that wheat in general has a higher glycemic index than table sugar...I have eye problems that have been getting much worse since this never-ending winter began.

My normal pizza crust is a focaccia bread that usually cooks fine on a cookie sheet. I pre-bake the crust so that it is crispy on the bottom...the crust I made yesterday was like a cracker on the edges though after prebaking but the middle stayed soft.

[cheeba]

I saw a thing somewhere recently about making tamagoyaki. But I'm out of soy sauce and I'm not so sure I'd care for sugar in my eggs. So instead of that I just mixed together my eggs in a bowl with a bit of salt and pepper and I use a tiny round pan. I put a thin layer of egg in the hot pan, then put a little shredded cheese on it and roll it over, then I pour some more egg into the pan and put a little cheese on that, and so on.

Makes a great omelette-like thing. If I were really going all out I'd throw in some finely chopped scallions and/or diced ham. I'll probably try traditional tamagoyaki when I can think to buy some soy sauce.

[Jeff V]

Tonight's experiment was a side dish consisting of:

1 ripe plantain, boiled until soft
1 head of garlic, roasted in olive oil
1/2 avocado
1/4 c skim milk
salt/pepper

mash plantain, garlic, avocado, and olive oil from the garlic roasting. Add milk mash some more. Salt and pepper to taste.

It went well with crab legs and asparagus sauteed in olive oil with a mashed up wedge of pineapple (mostly so the juice glazes the asparagus).

[ImLawBoy]

If you want to go healthier but don't require gluten free, just use whole wheat flour. And try a stone or perforated cookie sheet. Pizza is, as you put it, far too important for a regular cookie sheet.

I'm testing the theory that gluten is responsible for an aching knee and elbow that has been keeping me up all night. Also, that wheat in general has a higher glycemic index than table sugar...I have eye problems that have been getting much worse since this never-ending winter began.

My normal pizza crust is a focaccia bread that usually cooks fine on a cookie sheet. I pre-bake the crust so that it is crispy on the bottom...the crust I made yesterday was like a cracker on the edges though after prebaking but the middle stayed soft.

Some of the GF pizza crust mixes are good. We like the Chebe best, but if you're looking for more of a foccacia consistency, something like the Namaste brand is decent. It's crazy sticky and hard to work with, though. Just regular old GF all-purpose flour won't work very well for a pizza crust. The GF flours have all sorts of weird properties and flavors, so the easiest is a pre-made mix or lots of experimenting with different formulations of flours.

[Jeff V]

As closure to the experiment, the crust was markedly vile eaten cold. I always have cold pizza for lunch the next day, this turned mealy, gritty, and had profound anti-flavor properties that rendered the toppings (sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce, cheese, fresh tomatoes, and fresh basil) completely bland. I threw most of it away.

For tonight, I'm marinating fresh water shrimp in equal parts Lawry's Hawaiian Marinade and siracha sauce. I might be eating along, I came home to find wife in bed with fever.

[FishPants]

I've been single parenting for awhile, and found that using mealboard + allrecipes (and some of the other built in recipe site integration) has made my life seriously easier. Based on what you plan for the week and number of servings it creates a shopping list organized by section in the grocery store. For a few bucks I recommend it.

This week I've made sweet and sour pork on basmati rice, fried ice with egg and pancetta for breakfast and tonight I made my first meatloaf.

I like being able to cook for my kids, we listen to classic rock on the squeezebox and have some fun. It's a brief respite that keeps me sane!

[Kraken]

Fried ice is really tricky.

[FishPants]

Fried ice is really tricky.

Hahah indeed it is. The key is to coat it in corn starch and quickly hit it in the wok

[Boudreaux]

I don't know if I'd call it an experiment, but I tried making falafel a couple weeks ago. Found what looked like a good recipe. Once everything was mixed the instructions were to "form the mixture into 2-inch balls", but what I had was like thick batter. Waaaayy too liquid to do anything. I quickly pulverized some pita bread and added that in, which helped a bit. A cookie dough scoop made perfectly-sized balls, and when I dropped them in the pan of hot oil it looked like everything was working great.

Then I tried to turn them over, and everything literally fell apart.

I ended up with smaller overcooked lumps of falafel swimming in a mixture of oily crumb bits. By the third batch I had improved the technique enough to make edible falafel, but those first two batches were a complete loss. I'm thinking this is something that really needs a deep frier, but almost every recipe I find has you frying them in a shallow pan of oil.

At this point I have to try again, I don't know what else I'll use the almost completely full, expensive jar of tahini for.

[Alefroth]

At this point I have to try again, I don't know what else I'll use the almost completely full, expensive jar of tahini for.

Hummus or halvah.

[cheeba]

Anyone got any advice for cooking a center cut pork loin? Last time I cooked one a couple weeks ago I marinated it for a day and the results were disappointing. It tasted no different than if I had simply put the spices on the pork before roasting it.

[Jeff V]

Anyone got any advice for cooking a center cut pork loin? Last time I cooked one a couple weeks ago I marinated it for a day and the results were disappointing. It tasted no different than if I had simply put the spices on the pork before roasting it.

Emeril taught us "pork fat rules." The problem with pork loin is the lack of pork fat. If it's not too late, get a rib roast instead.

If you must do something with a pork loin, cut it into medallions, braise them, and maybe top with some sort of decadent sauce. I've dry rubbed them before, smoked them and turned them into pulled pork sandwiches, but more fat I better for that too, although the loin does smoke up really quick.

[Jeff V]

I don't know if I'd call it an experiment, but I tried making falafel a couple weeks ago. Found what looked like a good recipe. Once everything was mixed the instructions were to "form the mixture into 2-inch balls", but what I had was like thick batter. Waaaayy too liquid to do anything. I quickly pulverized some pita bread and added that in, which helped a bit. A cookie dough scoop made perfectly-sized balls, and when I dropped them in the pan of hot oil it looked like everything was working great.

Then I tried to turn them over, and everything literally fell apart.

I ended up with smaller overcooked lumps of falafel swimming in a mixture of oily crumb bits. By the third batch I had improved the technique enough to make edible falafel, but those first two batches were a complete loss. I'm thinking this is something that really needs a deep frier, but almost every recipe I find has you frying them in a shallow pan of oil.

At this point I have to try again, I don't know what else I'll use the almost completely full, expensive jar of tahini for.

I don't add tahini to falafel, I just use chick peas, parsley and garlic. I would think that is most responsible for the lack of structural integrity.

That reminds me, I have chick peas and haven't made falafel in a while. Maybe next week.

[cheeba]

Emeril taught us "pork fat rules." The problem with pork loin is the lack of pork fat. If it's not too late, get a rib roast instead.

If you must do something with a pork loin, cut it into medallions, braise them, and maybe top with some sort of decadent sauce. I've dry rubbed them before, smoked them and turned them into pulled pork sandwiches, but more fat I better for that too, although the loin does smoke up really quick.

Yeah it's too late. The local store has had these pork loins on sale for the past few weeks for dirt cheap, so I've picked one up about every other week. I normally just roast them. They do make good sandwiches.

[Jeff V]

Emeril taught us "pork fat rules." The problem with pork loin is the lack of pork fat. If it's not too late, get a rib roast instead.

If you must do something with a pork loin, cut it into medallions, braise them, and maybe top with some sort of decadent sauce. I've dry rubbed them before, smoked them and turned them into pulled pork sandwiches, but more fat I better for that too, although the loin does smoke up really quick.

Yeah it's too late. The local store has had these pork loins on sale for the past few weeks for dirt cheap, so I've picked one up about every other week. I normally just roast them. They do make good sandwiches.

Roast them, slice them thin, then drench them in BBQ sauce and they do make good sandwiches (I suppose fine without the BBQ sauce as well). I prefer to roast my pork Bohemian style, unfortunately, my wife doesn't much care for it.

[raydude]

It’s been a few months now since my wife bought me this tamagoyaki pan. Been making the dish from Midnight Diner (on Netflix) every weekend.

There’s something satisfying about being able to roll the egg back and forth in the pan using nothing but chopsticks. And the tamagoyaki is pretty tasty too.


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[Lassr]

Last failed attempt was chicken and dumplings, had a homemade recipe which is fantastic and I tried a shortcut using the frozen Mary B's dumplings instead of making my own. Huge mistake, they were thin and so dense it ruined the whole dish so after all those hours of prep and crockpot cooking I took a few bites and dumped the rest in the garbage, headed to local mom and pop restaurant for some meatloaf.

[Lassr]

Emeril taught us "pork fat rules." The problem with pork loin is the lack of pork fat. If it's not too late, get a rib roast instead.

If you must do something with a pork loin, cut it into medallions, braise them, and maybe top with some sort of decadent sauce. I've dry rubbed them before, smoked them and turned them into pulled pork sandwiches, but more fat I better for that too, although the loin does smoke up really quick.

Yeah it's too late. The local store has had these pork loins on sale for the past few weeks for dirt cheap, so I've picked one up about every other week. I normally just roast them. They do make good sandwiches.

Roast them, slice them thin, then drench them in BBQ sauce and they do make good sandwiches (I suppose fine without the BBQ sauce as well). I prefer to roast my pork Bohemian style, unfortunately, my wife doesn't much care for it.

About the only thing I do with a pork loin is put in a crockpot and pour 3/4 bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Golden Mustard BBQ sauce in with it and cook for 6 hours on low. Then make pulled pork sandwiches. That is the only sauce I find adds a good favor to the pork loin, other than that I usually don't touch the loins they just don't cook well. Often thought about cutting them into medallions and grilling but why go through the trouble when I can just buy pork Chops already cut for about the same price.

[raydude]

Emeril taught us "pork fat rules." The problem with pork loin is the lack of pork fat. If it's not too late, get a rib roast instead.

If you must do something with a pork loin, cut it into medallions, braise them, and maybe top with some sort of decadent sauce. I've dry rubbed them before, smoked them and turned them into pulled pork sandwiches, but more fat I better for that too, although the loin does smoke up really quick.

Yeah it's too late. The local store has had these pork loins on sale for the past few weeks for dirt cheap, so I've picked one up about every other week. I normally just roast them. They do make good sandwiches.

Roast them, slice them thin, then drench them in BBQ sauce and they do make good sandwiches (I suppose fine without the BBQ sauce as well). I prefer to roast my pork Bohemian style, unfortunately, my wife doesn't much care for it.

About the only thing I do with a pork loin is put in a crockpot and pour 3/4 bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Golden Mustard BBQ sauce in with it and cook for 6 hours on low. Then make pulled pork sandwiches. That is the only sauce I find adds a good favor to the pork loin, other than that I usually don't touch the loins they just don't cook well. Often thought about cutting them into medallions and grilling but why go through the trouble when I can just buy pork Chops already cut for about the same price.

My friend's mother, who comes and babysits the kids during the week, uses pork loin to make Filipino pork adobo. Even without fat it's pretty damn good.

[Daehawk]

From some of the stuff you folks eat Id think you were pregnant.

[ImLawBoy]

Pork loin is perfectly delicious when made right. When marinading I typically use something with lots of soy sauce, some vinegar, orange juice, and honey. I grill it over direct heat turning frequently to get a nice crust (the honey is key for this). The thing to watch for is that it cooks super quick and it doesn't take long to get to medium rare, so I check frequently with an instant read thermometer to make sure it doesn't overcook. There's also a Rachael Ray recipe (I know) that's pretty easy and is good for the oven. Cut slits in the meat and stuff crushed garlic cloves in, cover in oil and balsamic vinegar and plenty of fresh chopped herbs (rosemary and thyme). Bake in a 500 degree oven and it should take about 20 minutes to hit medium rare. Again, you have to be careful not to overcook it. I think the garlic doesn't cook long enough to actually eat so I work around it, but if you like strong garlic flavor you can eat the (partially roasted) garlic with it.

[Lassr]

My friend's mother, who comes and babysits the kids during the week, uses pork loin to make Filipino pork adobo. Even without fat it's pretty damn good.

Some of the recipes for that sound pretty good...

[hepcat]

How did I miss this thread and its cristo entry years ago???

[Isgrimnur]

marinading

*marinating

Marinade is a noun, marinate is a verb. Literally.

[hepcat]

It's like "urinade" and "urinate".

[ImLawBoy]

marinading

*marinating

Marinade is a noun, marinate is a verb. Literally.

Condescension is also a noun.

I'm more than aware of the difference between the two, but made a typo/had a brain fart.

[gbasden]

From some of the stuff you folks eat Id think you were pregnant.

Given some of your food choices I'm not sure I'd throw stones.

[Isgrimnur]

marinading

*marinating

Marinade is a noun, marinate is a verb. Literally.

Condescension is also a noun.

I'm more than aware of the difference between the two, but made a typo/had a brain fart.

A lawyer telling someone that they're being condescending? I suppose it does take an expert to see it, sometimes.

[hepcat]

From some of the stuff you folks eat Id think you were pregnant.

Given some of your food choices I'm not sure I'd throw stones.

Where would one start? I mean...the choices are staggering.

[Kraken]

From some of the stuff you folks eat Id think you were pregnant.

Given some of your food choices I'm not sure I'd throw stones.

Where would one start? I mean...the choices are staggering.

Many times I have wanted a "Stuff Daehawk eats" thread, but always refrained from starting it.

[disarm]

Pork tenderloin can be delicious. Here's one of my favorites, and it's only five ingredients!

Rosemary Dijon Pork Tenderloin

Mix a couple sprigs worth of chopped fresh rosemary and a couple cloves of minced garlic with enough dijon mustard to thoroughly coat your tenderloin. Rub the mustard/rosemary mixture on the pork and seal in a plastic bag for 30 minutes. After a little marinating time, remove the pork from the bag, lay a couple strips of bacon on top, and wrap with twine so it doesn't slide off. Place in a dish and bake for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees, until the meat hits 160. Enjoy!

[Anonymous Bosch]

For seriously good pork loin, it doesn't get much better than the following sous vide recipe:

[Daehawk]

As a stoned teen I remember coming home and making bologna/pimento cheese/mayo/egg sandwiches.