I hear ya about cell phones . . . 1) Again, I was assuming that most people's access to certain things was like my own. At the grocery store I go to, basil comes in those little bubble packs, or as a small potted plant with one or two stalks. That's what I meant for a "plant's worth" :) Is Gordon Ramsay cool? TV personality aside, he seems like an ok dude. 2) Yeah, the tubed stuff is a lot more intense flavor-wise and it seems like it tends to be less sour. I tend to use the canned stuff more often, but when I am able to, I like the tubed stuff. I have also come very close to partially re-hydrating sun-dried tomatoes when I've been out of tomato paste, but that seems like an experiment that should be conducted alone first. Maybe soaking them in a bit of wine would work? RE: mom-style vs. dad-style My mother cooks in a very loose way and she often forgets to buy something, so substitutions are often made. So, from watching her and eating her food, I learned that adjusting stuff on the fly is key and that most dishes can be "saved" with enough patience, tasting and tweaking. My mom is a great cook, but sometimes she'll make something amazing that took so much adjustment that she can't remember how exactly she made it. My dad on the other hand, cooks in an incredibly precise way and measures and times everything he possibly can. If he asks me to cook one of his dishes because he's busy or something, he'll come down and check to see if I'm following the recipe to the letter and he gets a bit twitchy if I'm not. I think this is a great way to cook, but given that I usually end up cooking with what's on-hand, it can be difficult.
Copy copy. So how much of that tube do you put in, all of it? Gordon Ramsay's true personality comes out most clearly on the UK version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. He is, at heart, a naughty little boy… who happens to have figured out how to run a multinational food service and multimedia empire. He's a consummate professional when professionalism is appropriate, and a cut-up when it isn't necessary. My grandmother used to make cornbread by throwing stuff in a bowl. When my grandfather was on strike and taking care of the kids, he was at a loss as to the recipe. He had my grandmother make cornbread for a week and measured all of her "throwings" then averaged. My grandmother's cornbread was occasionally better, but my grandfather's was always good.
Oh, that's the thing of it . . . different tubes can vary a bit in flavor and in volume and I don't really know why. In general, I'd say taste it first and then decide to go over 1/3 of a tube, or under. That's funny you mention cornbread. My dad was just looking for "The Perfect Cornbread Recipe", which I am totally down with. I don't know why, but physical limitations don't seem to apply to my stomach when it comes to cornbread. It just keeps going in . . . Pretty sharp of your grandfather though. I'm only limited in baking knowledge, but I'm told that as long as the proportions stay the same, recipes generally turn out ok, if you wanted to scale down or scale up. I've heard more than one person say that bakers who become cooks are generally better cooks. I only know one baker who also cooks, but he is a pretty dope cook, so I'll buy it. That's a good line to walk.He's a consummate professional when professionalism is appropriate, and a cut-up when it isn't necessary.
Oh shit, son, you wanna see some cornbread? I'll make up some cornbread. Not right now, though. It's like 80 out there and the turkey soup is gonna be plenty hot for the weather. My recipe comes down from the Dust Bowl plains of West Texas circa 1890. It is not what most jack-holes consider "cornbread" because for some stupid reason, "cornbread" in the US became "banana bread with corn instead of bananas" when it's supposed to be "that which you shovel up your beans with." Cooking is mixing. Baking is chemistry. I do not fuck around with chemistry. If there's a state change or a maillard reaction or a potential for curdling or anything like that upon which the recipe is dependent, I follow it religiously. If it's without any of that, I freestyle. Oddly enough, my daughter's "dad-style" and "mom-style" are going to be completely inverted from yours. Mom's the baker. Shit, mom's the vintner. Another reason to get more room: we had to leave the wine-making supplies in WA.
I'm just going to chime in real quick here and say that I want to see some corn bread. From either of you really. I'm a glutton when it comes to that stuff (and corn muffins).
This is exactly the kind of cornbread I am all about. Muffins are nice, but I don't want muffins with beans. I'll be sure to keep an eye out when you do get around to making it! Either way, I think it's a good thing for a kid to have different takes on how things can be accomplished, especially cooking. Not to get all Jamie Oliver, but knowing how to cook is a good way to know how to eat and eat right. I think that learning to take care of yourself and how to take care of others can flow pretty naturally from learning how to cook, too. I'd really like to learn more about brewing or wine-making or any kind of thing like that, not just alcohol. I love getting into the process of things. That's too bad your wife's wine-making stuff got left behind. How much room do you need to comfortably make wine at home?It is not what most jack-holes consider "cornbread" because for some stupid reason, "cornbread" in the US became "banana bread with corn instead of bananas" when it's supposed to be "that which you shovel up your beans with."
Wine making is lower-pressure than beer-making. Wine doesn't explode. You're just as prone to failure. You comfortably need a spare closet, ideally a motorcycle's worth of garage, and a kitchen large enough to sling 5-gallon buckets around comfortably. Kleinbl00 Klan Kornbread Preheat oven to 400F 1 C cornmeal (the real stuff, chunky and grainy) 1/2 C flour (any) 1 t. salt 1 t. sugar 3 t. baking powder (also known as 1T but why dirty more than 1 measuring spoon) 1C milk 1 egg ~3T bacon fat Heat cast-iron skillet over stove. Melt bacon grease in it. Combine dry ingredients. Coat bottom and sides of skillet with bacon grease. Dump excess into dry ingredients. Add milk & egg, mix with a fork. Don't worry about small lumps. Pour batter into skillet, 3/4" or so deep, 3/4" or so freeboard. Bake 12-15min. Klan Kleinbl00 blacK bean(K)s 1 bag black beans 5-8 c chicken or turkey stock (one of those frozen ziploc bags from the last time you rendered a carcass) shit tons of cumen shit tons of paprika a bay leaf marjoram good handful of salt shit tons of ground pepper Less of that red chile powder you got from the Homeland than you think because holy fuck is it hot Other spices that seem like a good idea OPTIONAL BUT PREFERRED: 1 ham hock, smoked vertebra, random salt pork chunk, leftover chicken wing, some bacon, whatever Throw in pressure cooker. Heat until it locks. Let it rock for like 30-40 minutes. Eat crunchier than that shit you get in a can. VARIATION: Kleinbl00 Klan KPinto KBeans Substitute shit tons of oregano for the paprika. ADDITION: BREAKFAST BEYOTCH Take leftover beans. Poach egg on top. Add avocado, salsa, corn tortillas and nonfat greek yogurt.
Nice one, thanks! I'm a bit snowed under with holiday leftovers, but I will definitely make up a batch of the cornbread and some of those beans, soon. Turnabout is fair, so I'll get some snaps too. This is straight up mom-style. I dig it. So, for the cornbread, does it matter what temperature the egg or milk are?1 ham hock, smoked vertebra, random salt pork chunk, leftover chicken wing, some bacon, whatever