That looks good.

It's like -10 here so I'm inside all day. I saw a momofuku sauce served with short ribs on a recipe and am going to try it I think.

With momofuku, they make it a marinade and cook it in the bag though, i'm not sure it'll work as well just as a straight sauce that you reduce.

Oh damn i didn't read it and just bought the ingredients lol. I'll figure something else out or just eat them plain I guess.

OK, Blue Apron trip report as promised:

For those who don't know, Blue Apron is a service that sends you a package of ingredients for three meals (two servings each; though there's also a family plan with four servings each) per week. There's usually a "menu" of 6 or so meal choices and you have to select your three a week or so in advance.

We decided to go with seared salmon with salsa verde; Korean tteok (rice cakes) with spicy pork ragu; and buffalo chicken sandwiches:







All were decent and easy to prepare. The salsa fresca on the salmon was super delicious and I'll def be making that on my own in the future. I can see this being really convenient for busy people who aren't super skilled at cooking, and they offer a nice variety of meal choices. Favorite thing is probably getting all the ingredients in the correct portions for the meal you're preparing so there's no waste (of food, at least; there's obviously a ton of packaging).

At $10 per meal per person, it's not terribly expensive either (the salmon was wild caught Alaskan which is like $17/lb at the store here). I can see doing it one week a month or so, but again, seems great for people who like to cook but don't have elite kitchen skills or the time to go to the store on a regular basis.

The portions look pretty small though, no? Feel like it would be pretty easy to put down 2 portions alone and I'm not a fatass.

They weren't bad. 600-800 calories each. I'm a fairly big eater and I wasn't still hungry after any of them. The Korean pork thing was really rich and hearty, and the chicken sandwiches had two thighs on each.

That Blue Apron seems pretty cool. I had posted early about cost of cooking vs. restaurant because my daughter has been cooking some lately with me taking her to the store and it seems like it's been costing more than just going out to eat. There are leftovers, but they don't always get used.

Family plan the price drops to $8.74 per meal and maybe there isn't as much packaging waste.

Short ribs are delicious just straight grilled like a steak too. I'm partial to a chimichurri sauce with them, but they'd be fine sauce less too. Just have to make sure to slice them against the grain, otherwise they'll be tough. So beefy though

It really depends on what you're cooking and how well you plan your meals. It can be very difficult to do when you're only cooking for one or two people and you're buying all or most of the components each time for every dish. I gave up making sandwiches at home years ago because there's no way I can cost effectively make something as good as the local deli.

However, you should encourage her to keep doing it. With practice she'll learn not only how to cook well, but how to cook and shop efficiently. Use the freezer for large cuts of meat that have been portioned, and for large batches of prepared foods that freeze well like beans, stews, etc. Buy root vegetables that can be used in many different dishes and keep for weeks. It takes me a long time to go through a bag of carrots, but the carrots are cool with that. They'll hang out in the fridge and not rot for quite some time.

We had our first batch of snow here yesterday so I was in need of some proper winter food. Made an Irish stew using the Serious Eats recipe. The sauce didn't actually taste much like Guinness but it was absolutely beautiful noneless. Made a huge batch so I have plenty of frozen portions to enjoy over the next couple of weeks.

Didn't add potatoes to the stew as I had some big red roosters that needed using up, so went for creamy mash on the side instead. yum!



EDIT: so nobody recognises those peppers I posted earlier?

i recognize them to be red bell, jalapeno, and anaheim

Really hard to say with certainty but since they're from the Asian store it looks like potentially a birds eye chili (small) and a long chili (large) both are used in Thai and SEA cooking they can basically be substituted for Serrano and poblano respectively.

If it's a birds eye it's hotter than Serrano, closer to chile pequin or arbol.

It's also possible it could be Anaheim and Serrano sourced domestically or from Mexico.

Stew looks great, might fire that up soon now that it's actually cold on the east coast.

miajag,

good to hear. i just decided to sign up and see what it's like for myself. when it came, how was the packaging? do you think it would be okay lasting a day without actual refrigeration, or would that be an issue?

actually thats not a jalapeno, my mistake.

didnt notice the little one on bottom either. looks like a serrano

we have made spare-ribs for an event this week and they have been the best I have ever eaten.
will copy that for home as well

-marinating for 24 hours
-sous vide 69C/156F for 24 hours
-oven 180C/356C for 20 mins
-> grill
-> 5min salamander

pinkish, falling of the bone tender and amazing crust

general ratio is usually 3-4x (otherwise restaurant couldn't make a profit, in a lot of high cuisine restaurants profit basically just comes from wine and food is breakeven/-ev due to all the man-hours)

anyway restaurants usually have mixed calculation which means lower profit for meat/fish dishes and higher profit for carb-heavy dishes(like pasta).

Not sure about a full 24 hours, but I won't worry about leaving it unrefrigerated for 12. All the fish/meat came sandwiched between two really big ice packs, which were still solid when I got them even after presumably being in the back of a FedEx truck in 55-degree weather all day. Whole thing is enclosed in an insulating foil thing in the box.

Made Kenji's Peruvian-style chicken while watching the Seahawks get reamed. Did it butterflied and roasted (as in TFL) instead of grilled.



Holy crap, this was excellent. The combo of the salty/savory rub, the crispy skin, and the spicy/creamy sauce is A++.

^ yum. Rice looks tasty too - how was that cooked and seasoned?

Thanks to all the pepper detectives - I used the two on the left as substitutes for Serrano and poblano which got me pretty close in terms of heat and volume.

Loving this thread - v inspirational. Set myself a goal of trying one new recipe every other week this year but have done 6 since nye already

in

great thread. thanks guys

Rice was just Goya Mexican rice from a box, heh Good though!

Chefsteps bagels from scratch, these were seriously good!! I've eaten 8 already today!

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...s-from-scratch

Boston,

That stew (and the whole plate) looks delicious!

Nice! I'm making Peruvian style chicken tonight too, butterflied and roasted, but going the lazy route and using a Peruvian BBQ rub mix that Whole Foods sells. It's an excellent rub if you can find it at your local WF store.

Hard to beat home baked bread products. Worth it for the smell alone, even if you don't eat the bread. 8 in a day is pretty epic!

I always find the hole in bagels annoying, so if I were to make my own I would prob just do them as whole rolls.


Cheers El D. I just followed the recipe to the letter (except for potatoes) and it turned out delicious. Give it a go - proper hearty winter fare.