[Kickaha]

Tonight I was making scrambled eggs (some minced leeks and shredded cheddar tossed in) and some pumpkin waffles (so good), when I had a hankering to make some hashbrowns too.

I love hashbrowns, but they are a pain to make. You have to keep turning them in the pan. Too hot a pan without turning, and they burn. A cool enough pan you don't have to turn them as often, and they never crisp up. Making mujardrah is only slightly more time consuming than good hashbrowns.

But I love hashbrowns.

Then I realized I had a hot waffle iron sitting there....

Two smallish potatoes, finely shredded, then pressed between paper towels to get the excess water out, tossed with a tablespoon of butter to give it a *touch* of oil (I would add a tiny bit more and add a single egg to about four times as many potatoes for a little binding) and 25 blissfully unattended minutes later... voila.



Not bad for a first shot. Perfectly crispy on the outside, nicely cooked on the inside.

This led to a discussion of what else this could be done with, and the next experiment?

Falaffles.

Oh yes. This must be done.

-------

In vaguely related news, I have now found the optimal way to cook steaks to get that wonderful charred outer thin layer, with a beautifully so-rare-its-still-mooing inside...



A flamethrower. Nope, not kidding. 500,000BTU/hr propane flamethrower used for weed control. Took an iron griddle plate, placed it on fire bricks on my patio, aimed the nearly three foot flame at it for a couple of minutes, then tossed the 2" thick slabs of beef on it. Smoke and sizzling was *insane*. About 45 seconds later, flipped the steaks, then played the flame over the outside to cook the edges. The fat ignited, and kept burning for quite a bit on its own.

The end result? Damned delicious. Next time I'm going to try it with a good cut of meat, and trim the excess fat from the outer edges first.


So what all is your favorite bit of recent cooking insanity that worked out better than you expected?

[drewprops]

I routinely prepare bananas foster with our weedwhacker. Tip: hose out the shield first or you'll get grass clippings mixed in.


...

[Ebby]

I have a fajita recipe I like that involves heating up a cast iron skillet till it glows orange. Oh the smoke, but oh the flavor! Definitely an outdoor meal.

I also have an outdoor 50,000BTU wok that makes some excellent stir-fry and fried rice.

Wow, you discovered an innovation in cooking! I would have your ingenuity. The maximum of my culinary abilities is spaghetti. But for the sake of justice it is necessary to say that I am cooking its with a Balinese sauce.

__________________________________________
Be confident while sending best nurse resume for dream job

[709]

꺼져

or else

[Ryan]

Honestly why do we even allow new user signups at this point?

[kieran]

I couldn’t even tell you the last time a “new” user contributed anything worthwhile here.

I feel like there are maybe 10 people that post with any resemblance of frequency, with another 15-20 that check in from time to time.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Ryan Honestly why do we even allow new user signups at this point?

Heh

[Mac+]

Fair point.

[turtle]

I give credit that these people figured out how to make their signature show up right away.

It is sad though, really sad.

[Matsu]

I'm doing some kitchen witchery of my own right now - I'm redesigning our kitchen - which will then serve as mission control for creation of my famous aglio-olio spaghetti Which, if you 're interested, is really easy.

A big handful of peeled garlic cloves. Three or four different chillies. I use whole dried Italian hot peppers, anchos, Guajillo, and California, either crushed in hand, or chiffonade depending on mood. Olive oil into 12" sautee pan until bases is covered. Low heat. Add garlic cloves and peppers. Find a good quality anchovy, either a in small tin or jar of oil packed fillets, add 6-10 fillets. Cook together on lowest heat available until garlic turns soft and slightly golden and anchovies break down. Shut off heat, leave on burner (electric) and cover top to retain heat. If You;re using something with fancier temp regulation, like a high end gas or induction, adjust accordingly. Just let the whole thing poach together for about hour.

Boil your water, add a giant fist full of salt to the pasta water. Use dried, square spaghetti, trust me, but if you can't find square, use whatever you got, not too thin. No fresh pasta, this is a recipe for pasta asciutta. Cook al-dente. As your pasta is boiling, take the lid/cover off your sautee pan - I just use an oversize lid from a deep pot, since many sautees don't actually come with a lid. turn it back to low heat and raise temp just enough to make sure the garlic gets really soft, not enough to burn it, a little browning is OK. Most of your chillis will have turned to oil red by now, and the anchovies will have completely disintegrated - if you used good quality fillets. If you only had cheaper fillets, just agitate them a bit and stir them around and they will break apart too. With about 1 minute left on your pasta boil, scoop out an espresso cup worth of boiling water and add it to your oil/anchovy/chilli sauce - which is really more of a condiment. Stir.

Drain your pasta (you should make 450g) and add it back to the sautee to mix it back together. DON'T put it back in the pot and try to pour the oil into the pot. Toss the spaghetti until everything is coated and plate. Cover with parmigianno, or romano, or a blend of the two. If I have a fresh fresno chilli, at this point I chiffonade it, and sprinkle over top. A little black pepper to taste. Now, you you really want a treat, you can also toast some bread crumbs in a separate dry pan while your water is boiling. Use plain dry crumbs, and toast them dark brown. Sprinkle them on with the cheese - they will add a nutty layer and texture.

That's it. Then go get fat. It's a ridiculously edible plate, it goes down like potato chips, you can't stop eating it. I'll eat a half pound by myself and still feel hungry. Cheap to make too.

PS. Damn, kitchen's have become frightfully expensive. Does anyone know where to get a good kitchen in the Toronto area, without having to sell a kidney?

[Mac+]

Matsu - aglio e olio is my go to - the simple pleasures mate! I love your recipe with the breadcrumbs... will definitely try it out!

Good luck with the kitchen reno.

[murbot]

A little over 16 years ago I impregnated my wife, and the now 15 1/2 year old will sometimes surprise us with butter chicken and rice, or pad thai with chicken and shrimp, or some crazy curry chicken thing, often times with a cake (with icing from scratch), or cookies or crepes for desert. Or she'll just whip up a pizza dough from scratch somehow using wizardry and make us a pizza.

It's amazing what a night of wrestling your wife can get you food-wise. Just takes some time.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by murbot the now 15 1/2 year old

But it was, like, just a couple years ago you recorded that precious video proclaiming "appleinsider.com sucks".

It couldn't have been more than… ten years?

No…

That's impossible…

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by murbot It's amazing what a night of wrestling your wife can get you food-wise.

[murbot]

Brad.

That’s the youngest one who cooks.

The girl of which you speak is closer to 18 than she is to 17.



(I know, it’s un-possible)

[drewprops]

Oh man did I laugh out loud – Murbot's still got it.

It's kind of a major gift to be able to enjoy this nostalgia.

You old fuckers.




...

Originally Posted by drewprops Oh man did I laugh out loud – Murbot's still got it. It's kind of a major gift to be able to enjoy this nostalgia. You old fuckers. ...

The maximum of my culinary abilities is spaghetti. But for the sake of justice it is necessary to say that I am cooking its with a Balinese sauce

[murbot]

Yes, for the sake of justice.

God these things are annoying.

[Dr. Bobsky]

Why are they balls deep in sauce?

[murbot]

Reading "I am cooking its with a Balinese sauce" in an Australian accent helps understand the true meaning

[Mac+]

I’m Australian and that actually helped!

[murbot]

Hey, try saying RISE UP LIGHTS.

Now say RAZOR BLADES.

Let me know what happens.

[Mac+]

Same same!