February 2020

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:That surely is a lot of work cutting the (diced) meats for chili. Well worth it though. I have an old oster meat grinder that has a large die plate that cuts course size pieces. It's a hand saver.  

Bugster2 wrote:I don't make chili 'cause none of us can eat it anymore, but I used to have my chuck ground at the store in what is called a "chili grind". I used to work at a place that had an annual chili cook-off. One thing I learned is that no one ever used ground meat - it was always a fine mince. I don't know if this was just a local trend or if it the norm for all chili cook-offs. I can still laugh at the names of some of the teams names - "Fast-Gasss" was one.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:Would you believe, Tina suggested chili for supper. Who knows with super bowl today?
I know we have those little hot dogs in the wraps to bake!
Chiefs are the team we are rooting for.

bethk wrote:I guess it's all a matter of personal taste.  I much prefer my homemade chicken stock to purchased beef stock.  I just don't have time to make beef stock anymore ~ and the ingredients are super expensive now and almost impossible to find good knuckle bones, etc.

Bugster2 wrote:I made some ghee today. I was hoping to get some type of spreadable butter. I got it but I need to add some salt. Most of the salt in the butter went south to the bottom of the pan. I can't say I would like to eat it unmelted. It has a texture that I don't care for but using it on toast or vegetables would be fine. I have a butter bell but the butter has a tendency to drop out of the top into the water.

Bugster2 wrote:Joe is having a porterhouse steak and a baked potato. Katie is having last night's shrimp and a baked potato. I am having a couple of bites of Joe's steak and potato.

Does anybody use a Butter Bell?

Bugster2 wrote:

bethk wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:I was reading an article from The Kitch'n where they tried 4 recipes for French onion soup. Their winner was from Serios Eats. I thought I would make a half batch and see what I thought. It was o ne of the worst tasting soups. I am waiting for it to cool down so I can put it down the garbage.

Bugs, was it the recipe for Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée?  I just looked at that and didn't see anything in the recipe that would make a bad tasting soup.  The recipe called for 'true' caramelized onions, homemade chicken stock, a suggestion of a bit of fish sauce and cider vinegar.....nothing that would be off-putting.  Can you post the recipe you used?  

Now you have me curious.....

Here's a link to the recipe I saw:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/01/french-onion-soup-recipe.html

Yes, that was the recipe. I followed it to a T and it was awful. I think the problem was the use of chicken stock. I don't think it belongs in French onion soup. I prefer to have a beef based stock. My crockpot French onion soup is much better. Kenji Lopez-Ault is a graduate of MIT and wrote a cookbook that really goes into the science of cooking, and usually he is right-on, but not this time.

bethk wrote:Even though we just had hot dogs, Dane decided he wanted brats tonight.  We've been super busy with workers in and out all day....and we have a meeting at 7 tonight.  I don't think he wanted anything heavy.  His other choice was beef short ribs.  (guess what we're having tomorrow evening??)

Crybaby wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:I made some ghee today. I was hoping to get some type of spreadable butter. I got it but I need to add some salt. Most of the salt in the butter went south to the bottom of the pan. I can't say I would like to eat it unmelted. It has a texture that I don't care for but using it on toast or vegetables would be fine. I have a butter bell but the butter has a tendency to drop out of the top into the water.

How much butter did you start out with, Debbie? It's a pain to make so I buy it, a couple jars at a time. We keep it in the cabinet so it's always room temp, which we like. I often use both ghee AND olive oil when sautéing things, as we like the resulting flavor from the combo.

Our butter bell will do that in summer, too, when it's warmer in the house.

Bugster2 wrote:OMG! My friend's daughter is engaged. She has been dating a divorced man with 3 kids. He has a good paying job. Not sure what it is, but her engagement ring is a huge canary diamond and cost $150,000. YIKES!!! I would never, ever want anything like that. I would be too afraid to wear it in public but I am happy she is marrying someone who can afford things like that. She and her sister are terribly spoiled and are not accustomed to doing without. Her other sister was getting married and bought a $7,000 wedding dress. Later she decided she didn't want it and mom paid $25,000 for another. She lives in a different universe from me. Same with Kim Kardashian: she has 9 refrigrators in her house.

Cookin Lore wrote:Those salads look great......... P.S.  That middle picture is a lamb burger?  I thought it was a doughnut and thought it a strange combination.  Guess that's gravy! LOL

Bugster2 wrote:It is cold this morning - 24 degrees for sunny CA. Burgers on the grill tonight. Got to eat early so Joe can digest it before going to bed. Prolly around 3Pm at the latest.

The weirdest thing keeps happening to me. I keep seeing my cats out of the corner of my eye. I miss them. I have some cat food I am going to donate to a cat rescue group. Katie's cats won't eat it.