What's for dinner?

[Frood]

If you work mostly on a charcoal grill, have you tried this no knead, overnight rise and ferment bread recipe? I make it in cast iron heated in the oven but it also works fine over charcoal or wood. Bet Ravella could give us some tips on the methodology.

https://www.startribune.com/recipe-no-knead-bread/11461321/
Fantastic crackly crust and a dense chewy fermented structure inside...

I have a friend who makes amazing no-knead sourdough in a big cast-iron dutch-oven. I've never tried it myself, but I have a nice cast-iron pizza stone I like to use in my grill. One of my projects over the summer is going to be to build a modified cob-style bread/pizza oven. Will most likely fuel it with charcoal instead of wood though (Southern California... rain in winter with hot summer = lots of dry fuel all around the hills, and grassfires burn fast and hot).

One more gluten tidbit... I was watching videos on YouTube about hand-pulled noodles and one of them brought up the point that the dough seems to develop as much gluten from resting over night as it does from extensive kneading... So in the video the poster could make hand-pulled noodles without kneading the dough for hours by letting it sit overnight instead. Thought it was fascinating, but haven't tried it yet (Haven't figured out the knack for hand-pulled noodles yet).

 

[JDub]

I have a big 6 qt Dutch Oven my wife gave me. It's what I use for that recipe. Does an excellent job despite sticking a little (although it's well seasoned). Sometimes I have to (carefully) pry a little w a spatula to break it free in a couple of spots (always the same spots - thickness difference in casting?).

Anyhoooo, it works well over wood and charcoal as long as I'm keeping a close eye on it. At home here I have a ledge built of old paving stones on the edge of my fire pit that I pull the oven onto and off the coals to regulate temps ala IR Temp gauge (wonderful invention).

Noodles? I've seen it done on TV and watched it done in person in Chinatown back home but no... Gonna leave it to the experts!!!

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

I make that no-knead, Dutch Oven bread, JDub.

I use a piece of parchment paper under the dough for the second rise, score the top before baking and don’t flip the dough over.

The parchment paper sling makes it easy to get the dough in and out of the Dutch Oven.

It’s one of those doughs that is nearly impossible to ruin, and always tasty.

It's really true to instructions to just "dump the dough into the pan and shake it a little to even out" It works fine everytime. Best thing about it is listening to it "crackle" for 5 min when you take it out of the oven...

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

Tonight dinner entailed 2 words. "Junk Food". It was the reward for yet another day preparing for Apocalyptic Doom that basically petered out to nothing here. oh we had some pretty serious rain last night and this morning but high impact wind gusts and twisters galore? Not so much. As usual. However, can you really afford to ignore them ala Peter and the Wolf? Probably not... Anyway. I got most of my baby plants back on the deck for a breather and uncovered everything I had covered up yesterday (my seedlings seem to have survived). So, by dinner tonight I was too uninterested to cook but luckily had leftovers to construct a nice pseudo junk food dinner.

After digging around, I found I had steak left from my BBQ, Mushrooms, onions, and a green pepper for that salad that ain't gonna happen, and half a loaf of WM French Bread ( slightly stale) that all needed using.

I'm always trying to be healthier in what I eat because I'm past 60 and no matter what I do to physically exercise and work, let's face it... The airframe is high on hours and slowing down... So, instead of frying this all up in high calorie oil. I combined it all in a casserole, drizzled a little EVOO on top along with S&P, garlic powder, chopped rosemary, and some water to add moisture. This all went into a 350 F oven for 30 min turning every 10 min.

Last few minutes I threw a few slices of Swiss on top to melt and the half loaf of bread cut down the middle to crisp up. Pulled it out. Piled it high with a drizzle of A-1 Garlic Chili Sauce, and went at it! Pretty good . No complaints, and no extra greasiness which means more calories. I think this would work well in a 12 volt oven type of cooking device - make the filling, heat while you drive, then make a sandwich at your leisure wherever you stop... You can use the pre cooked beef or chicken strips available to stand in for the grilled meat here.

I really hope that you folks out there are "weathering the storm", both literal and figurative. It's getting rough out there. Just don't give up hope or your dreams. Without them, you've got nada...

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

Tonight was another episode of JDub's wild and weird food cravings. The Manago Hotel Porkchop. Famous throughout the islands as Das BES Pokechops in Hawaii. They're served at the Manago Hotel Restaurant in Captain Cook on the Big Island which has been in operation since 1917. Founded by Japanese immigrants, the Manago has been in continuous operation longer than any restaurant in Hawaii.

The chops are deceptively simple. Fried in the same old cast iron skillet for the last 100 years they're just simple and good (I've had them several times) and as one of the attached articles recommends, add shoyu and it's a quick trip to "Flavortown"! It really works.

I had some chops defrosted and I simply seasoned them w S&P, and garlic powder. Dusted them in flour and tossed them in a medium high pan with about a 1/4 inch of light olive oil (the secret to getting a really good chop is frying them slowly). I used my kitchen and grill weight to keep them flat frying and about 10 min later All PAU!

Kept them warm in 220 F oven and heated some rice (I had Spam, Eggs, and Rice this morning for breakfast) and served them with a drizzle of shoyu and Bulldog Sauce (a fruity Japanese version of a sweet, thick Worcestershire sauce very popular w Japanese food). Added a nice ripe sliced tomato for a complete and HEALTHY (yeah, right, who am I kidding? ) and very tasty dinner. Scratched that craving very well! I hope that the two links I included will come through (one's in Pidgin - hysterical). Sometimes I can see around things others can't behind paywalls (A perk of having a son who's a computer engineer setting up your laptop)). Not intentionally, but it happens. It's a great American success story from very humble beginnings. The hotel is still in the family too.

Hope you're all having a nice evening wherever you're parked. Stay safe and sound out there folks!

Cheers.

https://www.honolulumagazine.com/manago-hotels-famous-pork-chops-get-one-secret-condiment/
https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/the-manago-hotel-some-of-konas-cheapest-rooms-and-best-pork-chops/

 

[Calaverasgrande]

last night I had left over hot dog buns and a few odds and ends.
Normally I'd freeze extra hot dog buns, but my Setpower is one temp zone, and I don't want to freeze everything else.
So I cooked the hot dog buns over the fire with cheese inside, wrapped in foil.
I also cooked some onions, bell peppers and tofu in my camping wok.
Then I made several small veggie philly cheese steaks.
Nice in the muddy rainy weather.

 

[JDub]

Sounds hot and tasty! The most important things in my book outside of "Fill you up"... Coincidently, I'm using the last of my Philly steak filling from the other night repurposed into a burrito with leftover Japanese rice so we're on the same frequency!

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all. I'm checking in early today due to not finishing my post for last night. 2 words: Carb Overload... I made the burrito I mentioned above with leftover rice mixed w salsa, leftover steak, onions, peppers, and mushrooms doctored w hot smoked paprika and Salzon, and cheese. It took 3 large sized burrito tortillas to fit it all in (I swear the thing weighed 2 pounds) and I was too busy trying to keep it from exploding as I wrapped it to get a pic of the fillings

Got it wrapped in tinfoil and into the oven on a rack @350 for an hour (filling was ice cold). Unwrapped it a bit and back into the oven to crisp for another 15 mike. Served it with a squirt of hot sauce and one of Siracha. I actually ate the whole thing ("Mama Mia, Atsa Spicy Meataball" - Uhhh Burrito! (remember that commercial?). I was pretty hungry. I'd spent a good part of the day mowing, whacking, edging, sweeping, - you get the idea- and once I took a shower after dinner, it was ALL over. Slept good though. Sooooo, here are some pics, tonight I'm not feeling too hungry - had a late lunch. If I do get peckish I think I'll do a simple baked ham and Swiss...


It's FRIDAY though! "Time to wave you hands in the air like you DON'T care"! Have a good night all and
stay SAFE out there...

 

[Ravella and X]

Some cold leftover rotisserie chicken and red grapes. Too tired to wave my hands over anything to alter it in any way. Almost too tired to lick my fingers after eating with them (saves on dishes, you see)

 

[John in Montreal]

Had a salad with some raw veggies and a box of Chinese hors d'oeuvres that I baked in the toaster oven (egg rolls, dumplings, etc)

 

[JDub]

Some cold leftover rotisserie chicken and red grapes. Too tired to wave my hands over anything to alter it in any way. Almost too tired to lick my fingers after eating with them (saves on dishes, you see)

Gawd, felt like that the other night... I barely made it to the bed... What were you doing? I got that book you recommended in the mail today! Read a little of it doing my late afternoon relaxing on the deck. Hysterical. One of the vignettes so fit a gal I knew in high school to the T. I was like, "Das Joanne Kinoshita"! I look forward to reading it. Thanks for the recommend!

 

[JDub]

Had a salad with some raw veggies and a box of Chinese hors d'oeuvres that I baked in the toaster oven (egg rolls, dumplings, etc)

Was it like a packaged mixed box of assorted stuff or odds and ends? Surprisingly, there are some pretty good frozen dumplings and eggrolls and such on the market. I eat them myself occasionally.

Cheers!

 

[John in Montreal]

Was it like a packaged mixed box of assorted stuff or odds and ends? Surprisingly, there are some pretty good frozen dumplings and eggrolls and such on the market. I eat them myself occasionally.

Cheers!

There was three different kinds. I had the dumplings and the egg rolls. Don't know what the other things are called I ate those for lunch today.

They're pretty good I've gotten them before. Usually I try to eat a lot of salad and raw veggies but last few days I've been doing a lot of bike rides and needed some energy.

 

[JDub]

Evening all. Went on a trip to the nearest large town today to get some hardware at Lowe's - It's time to do my seasonal maintenance work on my lawn tractor. Oil filter, plugs, air filter, etc... Needs a new set of blades too. Got it all and headed back, stopping at a Love's truck Stop about halfway that has an Arby's attached (closest one to us). It's probably my favorite fast food type of joint. Had a big Roast Beef combo meal so I wasn't to hungry tonight. Finally got around to dinner about 7. Made up a fast and simple meal of Curry Noodles - had some curry sauce frozen from last week, boiled some ramen (Sapporo Ichiban - the best instant Japanese style ramen widely available IMO). Combine and slurp... Very popular in Japan but most American's haven't heard of it. Laksa is another curried noodle dish that comes to mind (Malaysian / Singaporean).

That was it tonight! Hope whatever you had filled you up and made you feel good inside!

Stay safe.

 

[Ravella and X]

Gawd, felt like that the other night... I barely made it to the bed... What were you doing? I got that book you recommended in the mail today! Read a little of it doing my late afternoon relaxing on the deck. Hysterical. One of the vignettes so fit a gal I knew in high school to the T. I was like, "Das Joanne Kinoshita"! I look forward to reading it. Thanks for the recommend!

View attachment 31410

My copy got left behind on Kauai, but my youngest and I still joke about Janessa and her auntie. That kane trip for a specific female product just slayed me But really, they’re all good and all so very Longs Hawaii. Enjoy, JDub!

 

[Ravella and X]

Oh— what was I doing to be so tired? I’ve rejoined the full time workforce I suppose I might get used to it, but the specific hours I work say maybe I won’t.

 

[JDub]

My copy got left behind on Kauai, but my youngest and I still joke about Janessa and her auntie. That kane trip for a specific female product just slayed me But really, they’re all good and all so very Longs Hawaii. Enjoy, JDub!

Uncle Choochie Nawai - Shop Steward:

"No more that kind. No more. I need the brand Bobby. Shit, I coming to shame already Bobby. People looking. They LOOKING. I stay inside the wahine aisle at Longs yelling at my damn drug dealer kid on one small piece plastic dat play da Lone Ranger song when supposed to ring like one RING. Help me out Bobby, what's the brand!

FIND OUT THE F***ING BRAND!!!

Okay, now ask her what size."

 

[JDub]

Oh— what was I doing to be so tired? I’ve rejoined the full time workforce I suppose I might get used to it, but the specific hours I work say maybe I won’t.

Overnight stocking at WallyWorld?

 

[JDub]

Evening all. Tonight was a Chinese Wok Fest. Stirfry with pork, Napa cabbage, and green onions. Flavored with Chinese cooking wine, shoyu, ginger, garlic, sugar, and chili bean paste. Served with a big bowl of white gohan (rice). Comes together very quickly, all the works in the mounds of chopping you have to do!. Well worth it though. Good and spicy with imported, artisanal Chinese chili bean paste. Really adds that kick and unique flavor that very few run of the mill Chinese places use around here. Plenty of leftovers too. I foresee an Asian breakfast with Egg Fu Yong included tomorrow.

It's finally warming up more here at nights - It's been regularly in the low 40's for several weeks now, but tonight it's gonna be in the 60s. I think I'll sleep with the window open - and enjoy the breeze. I hope the weather is fine wherever the Nomad Diaspora is tonight and that all of you have a had a good dinner. Perhaps you can join me in having a nice hot mug of tea, coffee, or whatever you like to drink. It's going to hit the spot after that dinner!

Stay Safe and Sound!

Cheers.

 

[Ravella and X]

Overnight stocking at WallyWorld?

Not graveyard, and not retail store, thank the FSM. Not being coy, either, but also not posting for the whole wide world to see exactly where I work, cause the whole wide world has creeps in it I wake up at 3:30 AM like bakers do, but am not baking for dough. (See what I did there?)

Tonight I ate peanut butter and Cammalu’s delicious pawpaw and blueberry preserves with a slice of sourdough. For some reason, I stopped making peanut butter sandwiches about a year ago and now just spoon the stuff into a bowl and dip whatever into it.

I’ve not got much interest or energy for cooking these days, and since I’m staying indefinitely where it gets HOT, I don’t think that’ll change much for a while. I am still baking sourdough outside though. My starter Hugo would just die if I neglected him too long. Literally die.