I really wanna try the zombie pizza recipe

http://www.reddit.com/r/food/comment..._pizza/c7d8sfi

Hey Jack, can u help a brotha out?

I can't get my damn humidity under control, its staying at 85%+. We put rock salt in a trey at the bottom but I don't see any noticeable change. The only thing that works is opening it several times a day but I'm only there on mondays. I wiped down my bresaola with vinegar and water last week and everything appeared under control when I left and a guy that works there daily was supposed to wipe them down if growth reappeared. unfortunately he didn't because when I checked on it last night, they looked like this:







Everyone says the green mold is ok to just wipe off, but it took me 10 minutes per bresaola to wipe down last night and I still couldn't get the green out of the grooves, cracks and crevices or behind the twine wrap (I forgot to take after pictures).

If I've given you enough info, what would you do with the bresaola at this point?

what's your take/experience with green mold?

PS...at first glance, I thought I had that nice white mold covering everything evenly, but when I looked closer and started to wipe it off, the white seemed to be covering up the green underneath.

Thanks bro

I just saw this and i ate at Maoz near union square yesterday so I will respond months later. I am almost sure they are just roasting the broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil and salt and pepper. It's a very easy dish to make and yes, there's is delicious.

Yimyammer, that's some mean looking mold. I'm concerned more about the fluffy quality than I am about the green color. Of course it's not possible for me to identify what this mold is via a photo.

Lots of charcutiers allow green colored mold to grow unfettered. Iirc there's a discussion of this particular issue over on egullet.

I wouldnt necessarily bin your bresaola at this point but I would be extra diligent about removing the wild mold, taking measures including immersion of the meat in a vinegar and water solution and scrubbing to remove the unwanted mold. If it came back again after that I would probably consider the products dead and trash them.

And if you can't get the relative humidity under control, turn down the temperature. Cold air holds much less water than warm air. So 75% RH at 10C is much drier than 75% RH at 15C. The difference in water weight capacity per volume of air is marked even with this small change in temperature.

As long as you stick to the same ratios for the spices, the total amount you use is really just personal preference. I actually use more than the recipe calls for, and double the olive oil. For the sauce it really just depends on how wet you like your wings.

For making wings in general, instead of doing oven --> fry, you should fry at lower temp, then fry at higher temp. This is a great article: http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/01/t...alo-wings.html

I found an old thread over there that tapered off in 2010 IIRC, is there a current one you're aware of? I registered there and am waiting approval so I can bump that thread. Thx for the heads up

Good to know, I've been keeping the temp at 60 but of course it goes up when I open the door, so temps and RH are fluctuating wildly which probably isnt good

looking into trying a ceramic bulb to see if that will force the fridge to cycle more thus kicking in the defroster more often

thanks for your reply

I like crunchy foods, problem is, I'm getting fat so I thought I'd experiment and see what I could come up with to satisfy my cravings thats a little healthier. I was cutting brussel sprouts in half and noticed I ended up with a lot of loose leaves, so I tossed them in some olive oil added salt and pepper and baked them in the oven at 250 until they were crunchy and bingo, tasty, crunchy snack:



Two foods I hated and swore off for life as a kid are were Liver and beets, now its just liver.

The place I work makes an awesome beet salad. You take several whole beets and coat them with olive oil and salt & pepper, put them in a deep pan add a couple inches of water and cover the pan with foil and let them roast at 250 for 2-2-1/2 hours, let them cool, skin them and dice them. Then finely slice fresh fennel, rough chop radicchio, supreme wedges of oranges (cut them over a bowl and reserve the juice). Toss all of the above in a bowl and add fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt & pepper (all done to taste, no exact quantities). Throw in the reserved orange juice as well. I put this in a bowl that has a lid so I can shake it with the top on to mix everything up well.

Then you top it with goat cheese and spicy pumpkin seed brittle** (I didn't have pumpkin seeds, so I used cashews). It's really tasty but warning, there's nothing to fear when you see what you think is blood in the toilet down the road (did I just kill your appetite?)





**Spicy Pumpkin Seed brittle:

you can search for some recipes out there but all I do is roast my seeds in the oven and set them aside while I make the brittle.

I cant remember the ratios but all I do is put sugar, water, dash of kosher salt, cayenne pepper and a dash of red chili flakes in a sauce pan and heat it til the water boils off and it starts to thicken, I think that happens around 260F, throw in the nuts, stir and then spread it on a sheet to cool. Once cooled, I used a mallet to smash it up into little bits

***brief intermission--comic relief:***



Brined chicken poached in chicken stock then pan roasted on top of parsnip puree with roasted brussel sprouts & zucchini drizzled with chicken stock reduction topped with crispy chicken skin:







This may sound complicated but it goes together pretty quick if you've already made your chicken stock and brined your chicken. I try to have several breasts of brined chicken and stock available all the time. I make the purees in advance so they can be quickly heated and added to many dishes.

Parsnip Puree

Skin and chop several parsnips and simmer them in salted water (salt the water to the level you would a soup) until soft, throw them in my Vitamix, add some of the water, cream, butter, salt and pepper, mix until smooth, you're done. You can do the same thing with carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and I suppose any vegetable you like.

Roasted Vegetables:

The thing I've learned about cooking vegetables is to use a big pan, get it hot, add oil and dont let the vegetables stack on top of each other and give them space between otherwise they'll steam and get mushy. Brussel sprouts can get brown on the outside before they're done, so throw them in an oven at 300-350 to let them continue to cook while your doing something else.

Crispy Chicken Skin:

I never buy cuts of chicken anymore. Its easy to break down a whole chicken and you end up with all kinds of good stuff you can use that your just paying extra for to have them removed (example, boneless, skinless chicken breasts). I can get whole chickens for as little as 5 bucks each, organic goes up from there.

I break down several chickens and save the skins, use the bones and wings for stock (or sweet & sour wings) and then use the tenderloins and breasts for dishes like the above and you can use the dark meat for stir fry or anything you like.

The chicken skins simply get spread out on a foiled pan and baked in the oven at 350 until crispy and brown (about 25 minutes). When they come out of the oven, lightly dust them with kosher salt and let them cool as they'll get crispier in the process.

Chicken:

There's probably a lot of ways to cook the chicken but I took a breast and tenderloin and poached them in the chicken stock and then set them aside. I reduced the chicken stock I used to cook the chicken while roasting my vegetables and then quickly browned the chicken breasts in the pan I used to roast the vegetables. Rest & slice.

Assembly:

I start by making a round circle of the parsnip puree in the corner of the plate. Then you place a spoon in the middle and drag it across the plate in an arc and it creates a "swoosh". Place the roasted vegetables on top of the swoosh, drizzle some reduction, top with the sliced chicken, add more reduction and top with the crispy chicken skin.

Learn to Swoosh

The “swoosh” is one of restaurant chef’s go-to methods for prettifying a sauce or puree. To swoosh, you need a sauce (or puree), a spoon and some practice. The consistency of the sauce will change the way the swoosh looks, so you can experiment with different sauces and purees.

Step 1: Plunge about half of the bowl of a spoon into the sauce and scoop out as much as you can. Directly over the plate, tilt the spoon so that it’s completely vertical and nearly touching the surface. Gravity will pull the sauce down in a little pool.



Step 2: As soon as the sauce has left the spoon, tilt the spoon at a 45 degree angle and gently tap the center of the pool on the plate with the very tip of the spoon.



Step 3: Swiftly drag the spoon across the plate to give the pool of sauce a little “tail.”



The best advice I ever got about swooshing is to never touch the same swoosh twice; you’ve got to nail a swoosh on the first try, or you’ll only make it uglier. But don’t fret if your first few swooshes aren’t beautiful. Just like anything, it takes practice to get ‘em perfect.

~Fin~

I make these wings all the time. It sounds like it would have been a terrible idea to sub a quarter cup of coriander seeds that you subsequently crushed with a quarter cup of ground coriander seed. That would be way too much. However, freshly crushed whole seeds smell more aromatic to me.

I was told I could sub ground for crushed seeds at a 2:1 ratio, so ground would be 1/8 cup for 10lbs.

Still seems really high though. Doesn't the corriander just overpower everything? The ratio of corriander to the other spices in the initial marinade seems way off to me.

I ended up doing 2.5lbs for a chicken and waffles brunch the next morning and then cooked the rest for party later that night.

Was a higher ratio of sirracha to butter for the brunch than the party but I didn't want to blast all the party-goers with heavy sirracha.

They were a big hit at both places and are now going into my regular rotation for cooking.

The seeds don't taste the same as the leaves but I think I always prefer fresh cilantro.

Amazing post yim

Great post yim, I will try making that chicken dish or something similar.

Technical question on parboiling. Some people suggest parboiling a potato before cooking it later, to speed up the cooking time. Cooking a potato requires getting it to a certain temperature, say 180f from a starting point of 40f or 70f depending upon whether it was came from the fridge of not. Parboiling involves cooking it to say 150f, and then cooking it later. Let's say you cook it to 150f, then refrigerate it, will it cook quicker than a potato that started at the same temperature but was not parboiled, and why?

yim,

That stuff looks great. I just started breaking down chickens. I think Im on my 7th one so Im getting good, it is easy. Im about to start swooshin and crispin some skin up tho.

PG,

I parboil my potatoes to help with the starch. Then they crisp better in the oven e.g.

thx folks, I dont know the answer to the potato question, but I'll keep my ears open and pass along anything I hear. I love the food wishes guy, his videos are great

Re: Wings - I did a quick wing the other night and all it was was equal parts Sriracha, honey and balsamic vinegar, toss on the wings and roast in the oven. Much easier and faster and no frying. Forgot to take pics tho.

I want to make sure anyone who read my post realizes that I cut and pasted the part about the swoosh and those are not my words or pics. It's linked but may not be obvious since I linked the entire phrase. I want to make sure they get credit for their great site and recommend you guys check it out. Here's a link to the page about plating (I need a lot of work here, I cram too much stuff on my plate) : http://www.gilttaste.com/stories

Snipe we need some more of your stuff, love your presentation and photography

what age of balsamic vinegar?

I've tasted all of them up to 25yr old and have bottles of 8, 10, 12, and 15yr in my cupboard. I think the 12yr is my favourite.

Is that a general question to all or to my last post? If its regarding mine, I just use cheap stuff that comes by the gallon.

I'm no balsamic vinegar expert but I LOVE it, I just go to Restaurant Depot & buy gallon jugs of regular and white balsamic, white is really good as well.

BTW, vinegar is one thing you can stock up in large quantities to save money. I might have 20 gallons of various vinegar in my pantry plus I'm making apple cider vinegar out of peel and core scraps from making apple butter.

I bought a gallon of red wine vinegar for $4.50 whereas at the store I pay $5.5 for around 12 ounces.

Last summer was my first serious go at smoking ribs on a charcoal grill. Too many times my ribs came out tough and dry on that outside. I was smoking them unfoiled for too long I think. This summer I hope to master the balance of smoking them and steaming them in the foil.

I think lots of good pitmasters don't even use foil for ribs, I don't understand how they do that without drying out the rib.

Just made a cookie sheet full of gnocchi, shoved em in the freezer so I can cook them later tonight. Making dinner for 12 people. My menu is

1) Spinach salad with pine nuts and a simple vinaigrette.
2) Pan roasted salmon with lemon pesto.
3) Gnocchi carbonara.
4) Asparagus with hollandaise.

Mostly simple stuff but I'm glad that of it because my dad casually informed me 4 more people were coming after I had already shopped for most of the stuff. I'm gonna make hollandaise before I head over there and store it in a thermos, here's hoping it doesn't break!

http://www.myronmixonsmokers.com/main-model-page/

A lot of them have a water pan in the bottom that keeps it very humid inside so the meat doesn't dry out.

Gobbo,

That sounds like a spectacular meal, got room for a 13th?

I'd unironically invite you over if you were anywhere near central illinois.

Hmm

Nice - found this thread right after finishing some wings I prepared with just olive oil, salt, 3 kinds of pepper, and some freshly chopped rosemary. I threw them out on the grill for a little while and then basted with Sriracha. Super easy, basically zero prep or cleanup, and cheap at ~$2.50/pound. EZ snacks for bachelors, imo.

After I bought a bunch of pork hocks last week, our local butcher gave me a bunch of pigs ears and feet. Anyone have any experience cooking either?