Foodgasms

[tortoise]

was that sweat or sweet or by the deletion of the "a" did you combine the two?

Yes, I totally meant it as a combination. Sweet sweaty gym girl.

 

[tortoise]

Just got done cooking for the family breakfast:

French Toast for Challah or Sandwich Bread

Delicious, KM!

Sometimes I like to do savory versions of French toast, too, and top them with a bit of salsa.

But I'm weird like that.

 

[Guest]

 

[Paendragon]

This thread rocks.

 

[tortoise]

Ok. Thanks to this thread I spent two hours at the grocery store! Yeah, a lot more of it had to do with the re-awakening of my appetite (due to this thread), but still...

So. By the time I got home it was too late to start on the Shrimp Gumbo ~ I'll cook it today. Instead I made Seafood Chowder. Butter, bacon, onions, celery, & thyme sautéing provided a nice beginning to my returned foray into cooking ~ jump started the long dead battery of my desire to create in the kitchen rather nicely. Tiny shrimp, shredded crab meat, and clams filling the creamy aromatic soup was heavenly.

I was stuffed.

Thank you muchly.

Good lord that sounds delicious.

You are more than welcome. I am so glad that you are enjoying food and the process of creating it again. Sometimes, when I get too trapped in my own mind, making myself do something that brings me pleasure helps pull me out of it.

 

[tortoise]

This thread rocks.

I am loving this thread. Thanks in large part to contributions by the likes of you.

You all rock.

 

[tortoise]

Just to torture myself (as I am boycotting potatoes for a bit), I now turn to my roasted potato salad, another excellent party/picnic/barbecue alternative. Again, it's a very simple recipe, designed to set off the natural sweetness of the roasted potatoes.

Just roast cubed red potatoes (olive oil, salt, pepper, 425 oven, stirring a few times, until brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside). I sometimes sprinkle them with parmiggiano, but I've found that doing them "naked" yields a crispier texture, which is key for this salad. Remove from oven and let cool, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. For the dressing, I simply whisk a bit of extra virgin olive oil (or, if I have it on hand, Meyer lemon-infused evoo) into a big dollop of dijon mustard. That's it. Fold in just a bit of the dressing (you can always add more, but the trick is to get them just barely coated) and some chopped fresh italian flatleaf parsley until the potatoes are coated. Let cool completely. Can be served chilled or at room temperature. It's definitely not your standard potato salad, and the roasted flavor and slightly crispy texture really shines through.

 

[Hester]

This is very true, but I try not to think of it as a potato substitute, as it has definite charms that are all its own, if properly prepared. Sliced thin and sauteed until perfectly caramelized, it will take a back seat to no tuber.

carmelized is the only way i'll eat those tumor-resembling things. i've never been able to get into the cauli mash craze.

as for cheesegasms, i like a simple salad of baby greens with sliced apples, vidalia (or other sweet) onion, and bits of explorateur cheese with a light vinaigrette. the contrasts of the creamy cheese with the sweet apple and onion and slightly pungent dressing is marvelous. you can throw on some pine nuts for texture if so inclined.

 

[tortoise]

carmelized is the only way i'll eat those tumor-resembling things. i've never been able to get into the cauli mash craze.

as for cheesegasms, i like a simple salad of baby greens with sliced apples, vidalia (or other sweet) onion, and bits of explorateur cheese with a light vinaigrette. the contrasts of the creamy cheese with the sweet apple and onion and slightly pungent dressing is marvelous. you can throw on some pine nuts for texture if so inclined.

I am so inclined. And that sounds delicious. Good salads are all about a balance of flavors and textures. Savory, sweet, sour, bitter, crisp, crunchy, creamy.

I was never a fan of cauliflower, AT ALL, until I had it caramelized. Probably my least favorite vegetable, up until that point.

I'm willing to bet that you wouldn't hate my mash, though. The celery root and leeks add a LOT to the dish, give it less of that cruciferous cauliflowery taste, more of a fresh anise taste. It's very refreshing, and I've seen people who HATE cauliflower go back for fourths.

 

[Hester]

I am so inclined. And that sounds delicious. Good salads are all about a balance of flavors and textures. Savory, sweet, sour, bitter, crisp, crunchy, creamy.

I was never a fan of cauliflower, AT ALL, until I had it caramelized. Probably my least favorite vegetable, up until that point.

I'm willing to bet that you wouldn't hate my mash, though. The celery root and leeks add a LOT to the dish, give it less of that cruciferous cauliflowery taste, more of a fresh anise taste. It's very refreshing, and I've seen people who HATE cauliflower go back for fourths.

i'd give it a shot if you made it.

 

[tortoise]

i'd give it a shot if you made it.

The thought of cooking for and with the people I here makes me melt almost as much as the thought of making them orgasm until they get laryngitis.

*grin*

 

[Hester]

The thought of cooking for and with the people I here makes me melt almost as much as the thought of making them orgasm until they get laryngitis.

*grin*

i don't see the two events as mutually exclusive.

 

[Recidiva]

The thought of cooking for and with the people I here makes me melt almost as much as the thought of making them orgasm until they get laryngitis.

*grin*

Must watch Firefly with Tortoise while making food. If I do this before I die, will have been a good life.

 

[tortoise]

i don't see the two events as mutually exclusive.

Nor do I, clearly. If I want to fuck you, then you can pretty much rest assured that I want to cook for you, too.

The converse, on the other hand, is NOT necessarily true. Not even letting my mind go down that path.

Must watch Firefly with Tortoise while making food. If I do this before I die, will have been a good life.

*warm fuzzies*

We shall definitely have to make this happen. Also, I want to watch a brand new show with Ulaven, just to see him predict the ending to the letter.

 

[Hester]

The converse, on the other hand, is NOT necessarily true. Not even letting my mind go down that path.

assuming that you cook for family occasions, this is a relief!

 

[tortoise]

assuming that you cook for family occasions, this is a relief!

Exactly!

 

[Recidiva]

*warm fuzzies*

We shall definitely have to make this happen. Also, I want to watch a brand new show with Ulaven, just to see him predict the ending to the letter.

Yaaay! Something to live for.

And he cooks, too. He makes a feta pizza to be coveted.

...and I don't like feta. It's that good.

 

[tortoise]

Yaaay! Something to live for.

And he cooks, too. He makes a feta pizza to be coveted.

...and I don't like feta. It's that good.

Sharp cheese! Eek!

I love feta, so it would be extra fantastic for me!

 

[Hester]

Sharp cheese! Eek!

I love feta, so it would be extra fantastic for me!

let's talk feta!

french, greek, bulgarian?

on the harder side or on the creamier side?

 

[tortoise]

let's talk feta!

french, greek, bulgarian?

on the harder side or on the creamier side?

Yay!

I like all three, but I mostly get Greek or French, as that's more available hereabouts. I love both the hard dry and the soft wet. It depends on my tastes at the time and what works best in the recipe. For a simple Greek salad, I like it fairly soft, but not too soft. I also do this roasted corn and feta salad (roasted sweet corn, roasted red peppers, feta, baby greens, balsamic vinaigrette). For snacking, I like both, but harder is better for finger snacking, and I do love finger snacking.

 

[tortoise]

One thing I won't buy is those containers of pre-crumbled "feta". For salads, I prefer my feta chunks to be bite sized, not fetagravel.

 

[gravyrug]

One thing I won't buy is those containers of pre-crumbled "feta". For salads, I prefer my feta chunks to be bite sized, not fetagravel.

I actually kinda like the fetagravel. I prefer feta as a flavoring rather than the central focus, though.

 

[Hester]

One thing I won't buy is those containers of pre-crumbled "feta". For salads, I prefer my feta chunks to be bite sized, not fetagravel.

those are pretty icky.

i can handle some hard feta as long as it will still "melt" on the tongue. if you have to chew it, it's wrong.

generally, i prefer somewhat softer, but not quite mushy.

 

[Hester]

I actually kinda like the fetagravel. I prefer feta as a flavoring rather than the central focus, though.

the texture of that stuff bothers me.

feta wrapped in roasted red peppers around a little piece of cucumber.

 

[tortoise]

I actually kinda like the fetagravel. I prefer feta as a flavoring rather than the central focus, though.

Yeah, it's a texture thing for me, too. It doesn't have to be the focus, necessarily, but I like it to be in somewhat cohesive bites.

the texture of that stuff bothers me.

feta wrapped in roasted red peppers around a little piece of cucumber.

I'll have to try that! I can taste it in my head, and it tastes very good. Funny, I don't think of combining roasted peppers and cucumbers, which is very odd, as they are two of my favorite ingredients in the world, and now that I think about it, they would taste wonderfully together. Sweet and soft meets cool and crunchy. I'm excited to try it!

I roast my own peppers on the grill most every weekend, enough to last me through the week. I always grill other one or two other vegetables with the peppers (asparagus, portabella, fennel, eggplant), but the peppers are a constant. I used some of last weekend's batch to make a roasted pepper hummus. Yum.