Tell us what you have cooked lately (that's interesting)

[CheesyPoof]

This surprises me, because honestly, that’s exactly how I do ribs in my crockpot when I’m feeling lazy, and they come out phenomenal every time. Maybe it’s just a difference in crockpots or the ribs themselves.

But I do the same thing… cut my rack into 3 rib pieces, pour bottled bbq sauce over them (I use Sweet Baby Rays) and let it cook for most of the day… at least 8 hours, sometimes longer. By the time it’s dinnertime, the meat is super tender and falling off the bone.

I cook them on low… are you cooking them on high, by any chance? Because I could maybe see 8 hours on high drying them out.

I definitely cooked them on low. Maybe it’s a difference with the crock pot. Funny enough we used sweet baby rays sauce, too. They were tender and falling off the bone, so that was good, but something in the meat tasted dry and the sauce felt burned. So it goes.

[Skipper]

I intended to cook the ribs the other day when I was working from home the other day, but work had other plans. I went with plan b, today, the slow cooker. I cut up the ribs into groups of 3 and poured commercial BBQ sauce over it and set the timer to 8 hours. It didn’t turn out so well. They tasted a bit dry, of all things, but there was too much sugar in the sauce and while it wasn’t burned, it certainly tasted scorched and too carbon like. So it goes.

Eeep, not good. I’m kind of baffled why, mine usually come out great. I’m going to guess there wasn’t enough liquid in the sauce and they dried/charred? Or the sauce was thick and boiled down to nothing, leaving a charred taste.

Sorry to hear that CheesyPoof, not good. :(

[Dejin]

That looks great Juste and Hans. You guys are making me hungry! :-)

Bonus points to Juste for the photography, color choices, and layout. Great food photography.

[Juste]

I have been really stressed out at work lately, this is our busiest season of the year and i am completely swamped in work. So what better way to relax after a long day at work than a little cooking? (well not much cooking in this case)

Sashimi by Roger Grafsrønningen, on Flickr

Sashimi from Norwegian Salma salmon, probably the best you can get in stores.
Scallops cooked lightly in salted butter.
Organic steak seared in the pan, then cut and covered in homemade Ponzu sauce.
Blanched Asparagus drizzled with olive oil with some Maldon sea salt for taste.

Homemade Ponzu sauce, soy sauce, marinated ginger, wasabi and some very thinly sliced red onions for dipping and condiments.

San Miguel lager for drinks.

I am now so full that i can’t think straight.

[Omniscia]

That looks amazing.

[Skipper]

BRB, moving to Norway.

That looks delicious.

[jeffd]

Inspired by interman, I made a quiche Lorraine. Into the basic quiche I threw some caramelized onions & sauteed mushrooms. It was delicious!

Oh, and I beg to differ regarding the whole salma salmon being the best. Everyone knows the best salmon in the world is out of the Copper River, in Oregon. :P

[interman]

Cool stuff guys!

Not too much fancy cooking here lately, but I’m thinking about hiking up a nearby mountain, grabbing as many blueberries as I can, and making a tart or something out of it. We’ll see. I haven’t eaten blueberries in ages.

[Hans_Lauring]

Looks nice Juste. AGree on the salmon.

In the ‘nothing fancy’ department I tried for the first time since I got my Weber to smoke a chicken.

I stuffed it with lemons, thyme and rosemary. Loosened the skin and inserted chopped thyme, basil and rosemary under the skin with some butter and salt and pebber. Rubbed the beast in oil and salt and pebber. That was all of 7 minutes work.

Then I sat the Weber up for indirect heat, put some wet wood chips (hickory) on the cools and closed the lid. When the smoke cleared I applied more wood. After an hour I grilled some potatoes (with butter) and portobello mushrooms (garlic, butter and s&p) while the chicken finished.

Best fucking chicken ever. I don’t know why I never smoked anything before, but that’s certainly something I’ll be exploring.

[Brad_Grenz]

Inspired by interman, I made a quiche Lorraine. Into the basic quiche I threw some caramelized onions & sauteed mushrooms. It was delicious!

Oh, and I beg to differ regarding the whole salma salmon being the best. Everyone knows the best salmon in the world is out of the Copper River, in Oregon. :P

Atlantic Salmon just look wrong!

[Speak_With_Bread]

Mmmm. I really need to try making a whole chicken one of these shopping trips.

Also in the ‘nothing fancy’ department, in the past week I’ve made crepes, a cinnamon chiffon cake that kinda fell when taken out of the oven but was still eaten with gusto by my coworkers, and cherry popovers. The latter are much blander than I expected them to be, though. Would it be blasphemy to ice those, or should I stick to something simple and dippable like honey butter?

[Juste]

Looks nice Juste. AGree on the salmon.

In the ‘nothing fancy’ department I tried for the first time since I got my Weber to smoke a chicken.

I stuffed it with lemons, thyme and rosemary. Loosened the skin and inserted chopped thyme, basil and rosemary under the skin with some butter and salt and pebber. Rubbed the beast in oil and salt and pebber. That was all of 7 minutes work.

Then I sat the Weber up for indirect heat, put some wet wood chips (hickory) on the cools and closed the lid. When the smoke cleared I applied more wood. After an hour I grilled some potatoes (with butter) and portobello mushrooms (garlic, butter and s&p) while the chicken finished.

Best fucking chicken ever. I don’t know why I never smoked anything before, but that’s certainly something I’ll be exploring.

Thinking of getting a Weber myself for next barbecue season. Which model do you use and would you recommend it?

[Hans_Lauring]

I think I have the basic One Touch Gold with the ash bin underneath. 57 cm as I recall, and I like it. If I had the money I’d prefer it slighty bigger (67 cm) and with a thermometer in the lid - and perhaps something better suited for long time smoking, but that’s a new area for me.

I definitely like it and have prepared good meals on it. The benefits over the no name 57 cm I had before (and before and before) is the taller cooking space and the fact it’s sturdy and I don’t need to replace it every other year.

[nKoan]

All this talk of Norwegian salmon makes me want some gravlax.

[Mike_Cathcart]

Phase one of making some vanilla bean ice cream last night: putting the stuff together in a pot and heating it up a little bit before cooling overnight. I love doing that, it makes the house smell awesome.

[Meghan_Bowyer]

Pork chops with blueberry sauce. Yum.

Although I really need to remember to open up a few windows BEFORE I add meat to a hot pan - something about the setup of our house causes the smoke to infiltrate the entire first floor.

[Speak_With_Bread]

<laughs> Every time I use egg wash, there’s an immediate burning smell for the next four minutes or so and everyone in my house gets quite alarmed. Every. Time.

Tonight: arroz con pollo, beef empanadas, and vegan taco salad. This is what happens when I get home later than expected from a shopping trip and have, like, fifteen people coming over for a pre-funeral dinner.

[Scrax]

Heehee! I can’t tell you his recipe, but I can send you a dark chocolate tart that’s really not very hard and will knock (at a minimum) the socks off any lady.

Smitten Kitchen’s dark chocolate tart.

That is right up my alley! Thanks Bread Whisperer!

[Speak_With_Bread]

Very welcome, Scrax. It makes me squee anytime I can introduce someone else to that recipe. :D

Also, from experience, it knocks the socks off guys too. ;)

[Speak_With_Bread]

http://chocolateandcarrots.com/2011/07/flourless-fudge-chocolate-chip-cookies

These. Oh my goodness gracious, these. Go buy a bunch of powdered sugar, drop everything else, and make these. It’s like hot chocolate, in a cookie. SO GOOD.