What did you Bake/Cook Today?!?!?! :)

[ceecee]

Steak (bottom round) with my a sugar/paprika/cayenne/salt rub broiled in a toaster oven. My attempts to cook steak on a stove top produed way too much smoke. I would have broiled it in an oven, but I was afraid that the broiling pans I had wouldn't hold up to under broiling temperature. All the pans I had said not recommended for above 400 o4 450 and I know broiling is usually at least 500. Luckily, my toaster oven came with pans and it said they could be used broiling, so I assumed those were fine.

I'd love to know more about the science of baking vs. broiling. I know it's the direction the heat comes from as well as the temperature, but why is one better for steak and the other better for roasts?

I don't think that baking is just for roasts. For a steak on the thinner side - broiling is all you need. Anything else, I would sear in a cast iron or other heat proof heavy pan and right into the oven at 400 or 450. Get that instant read thermometer too. A 10 inch Lodge skillet is less than $15 and you can use it for a million things anywhere - even a campfire. In the end, roasting or baking surrounds the food with heat and the broiler is only for very small/thin stuff or browning/toasting and melting on top. A really strong exhaust fan is really worth it's weight in gold - I use mine anytime I cook but most people don't have that luxury.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I don't think that baking is just for roasts. For a steak on the thinner side - broiling is all you need. Anything else, I would sear in a cast iron or other heat proof heavy pan and right into the oven at 400 or 450. Get that instant read thermometer too. A 10 inch Lodge skillet is less than $15 and you can use it for a million things anywhere - even a campfire. In the end, roasting or baking surrounds the food with heat and the broiler is only for very small/thin stuff or browning/toasting and melting on top. A really strong exhaust fan is really worth it's weight in gold - I use mine anytime I cook but most people don't have that luxury.

Oh, see with baking, it's taking advantage of the fact that heat rises to cover the top as well? But it seems like you often need to turn food regardless. I suppose that's just because it's still hotter at the bottom than the top. I did notice when broiling that it seems like the heat was more localized... I saw less on the other side than I think I would have if I baked, and I suppose that's not just attributable to the toaster oven.

Yeah, I rent so I can't really get a better exhaust fan.

I do think I'm going to get an instant read thermometer. The steak wasn't all that thin (about an inch at the thickest point). It seems like broiling might be more useful for avoiding overcooking steaks. A well done steak means I wasted my money buying the damn thing.

 

[Lexicon]

I really miss curry from this local place, but I’m not doing takeout amid the pandemic, so, I made some of my own, with this Campbell’s packet. It was surprisingly not bad.

^added 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast to this.

Steamed the veggies (still crisp), made 1 cup brown rice. Mixed the cooked chicken with the vegs in skillet. Added curry sauce, mixed/heated. Put on top of brown rice.

Wasn’t “pretty,” but it was edible.

This’ll be dinner for the next couple of nights.


I’d like to learn to make my own.. I don’t like that ‘sugar’ was the basically top ingredient in that sauce.

 

[Tilt]

I really miss curry from this local place, but I’m not doing takeout amid the pandemic, so, I made some of my own, with this Campbell’s packet. It was surprisingly not bad.

^added 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast to this.

Steamed the veggies (still crisp), made 1 cup brown rice. Mixed the cooked chicken with the vegs in skillet. Added curry sauce, mixed/heated. Put on top of brown rice.

Wasn’t “pretty,” but it was edible.

This’ll be dinner for the next couple of nights.


I’d like to learn to make my own.. I don’t like that ‘sugar’ was the basically top ingredient in that sauce.

If you like Thai curry, you can get a small jar of curry paste for $3-4 and it can be kept in the fridge for a few months. To make it taste more complex, you can also add a can of coconut milk.
Fish sauce is fairly common addition too for extra umami.

 

[Lexicon]

If you like Thai curry, you can get a small jar of curry paste for $3-4 and it can be kept in the fridge for a few months. To make it taste more complex, you can also add a can of coconut milk.
Fish sauce is fairly common addition too for extra umami.

I’ll look for those when i do another grocery shopping this month! Thank you!

 

[Lexicon]

As I mentioned in another recent post here, my roommate’s birthday was recently. Unfortunately I didn’t have the stuff to do a cake for her at the time (though I did those bday burgers).

I got the stuff the other day, & embarked on a secret mission with Roommate’s Kid today, to make a cake in the style of her favorite old Nintendo game:

I probably needed dowel rods for better shape, but, you get the idea:

Unfortunately, my black food coloring marker was starting to run out, hence the messy lines. Kid drew the middle stuff except the age. I think the bottom left square is supposed to be Cricket’s head!

Instead of

The Legend of
ZELDA

on the bottom,

I did:

The Bday of
ROOMMATE’S NAME


Obviously I scribbled that out in the photo editor for privacy.


It’s chocolate cake with white buttercream crumb coat, Wilton white vanilla fondant, sprayed with Wilton gold food coloring spray. The writing is all Wilton food coloring markers.





Not my best, but I think she will enjoy it, especially since her offspring assisted. Which, honestly I hate doing food projects with kids, because children touching food inherently grosses me out (it’s not necessarily rational, it’s a visceral thing), but we had gloves & I supervised so there were no spitty fingers digging into anything, etc. I left some excess cake shavings & frosting for her to taste afterward. She’s kinda past the age of being super gross, but it still makes my brain itch, & that probably makes me sound like a monster, but I’m ok w/that.
It was nice to be able help her do something for her mom, regardless.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

Baked salmon with lemon, garlic, and dill, and some roasted broccoli and carrots.

I have like five go-to recipes for when I don't actually feel like doing a damn thing, and that's one of them. Self-care my way.

 

[prplchknz]

my smoothie turned out amazing this morning, did half a 16oz bag of frozen mixed fruit, a banana, some non-fat plain yogurt, 1/4 c of sugar, and covered with whole milk. it's the perfect consistency and sweetness

 

[ceecee]

Saucy Soy Curls with Broccoli and Brown Rice | The Best Vegan Food Recipes | Good Old Vegan

Except I used Harmony House Chickenish Chunks.

 

[cascadeco]

I just slow-roasted (200 degrees F) a whole chicken (it was close to 4 pounds, so a smaller sized one - rather, probably a more 'normal' sized chicken vs super-hormone-sized). It turned out better than the first time I tried it a few weeks ago, as I a) Recently invested in a very good quality dutch oven, which helped a ton; and b)Did not overcook it like last time. It was probably still cooked about 1/2 an hour longer than necessary, but a definite improvement over 1.5-2 hrs too long, and still retained some juices. I think I'm going to just start doing whole chickens most of the time, as they're actually a lot more economical. And way better than giant chicken breasts.

Also roasted some beets to go with it, as I'd like to start 'liking' beets more and broadening my diet to include healthier things. I wouldn't say I enjoyed them per se, but I'm not against the flavor, so I figure that's a start. (I referenced a cookbook I got for xmas, using some olive oil, lemons, and thyme, but I'm sure there are recipes out there that are a step up from this)

And, part of a baked potato.

Due to the healthy nature of all of this, I felt the need to finish the meal off with the rest of a dark chocolate bar I opened during lunch.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

I dunno I'm baking some assorted root veg with a hoisin/soy sauce I lazily threw together that's probably going to burn, and some chicken thighs well-seasoned with a bunch of shit (S&P, garlic, onion, ginger, mustard powder, cayenne).

I can't wait for the kids to cry about it. Literally. For like half an hour without moving a finger.

They can have fucking bread.

 

[Lexicon]

I made a painfully cheesy miniature cake for my grandmother's birthday.

...I said it was ‘from’ her new puppy.

Chocolate cake, vanilla frosting crumbcoat, vanilla fondant, & the text was just Wilton food coloring markers— which weren’t as cooperative as I’d hoped, but, eh.


She was happy with it. She likes cutesy, cheesy stuff like this.

 

[The Cat]

I dunno I'm baking some assorted root veg with a hoisin/soy sauce I lazily threw together that's probably going to burn, and some chicken thighs well-seasoned with a bunch of shit (S&P, garlic, onion, ginger, mustard powder, cayenne).

I can't wait for the kids to cry about it. Literally. For like half an hour without moving a finger.

They can have fucking bread.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

I literally just did this. With chocolate soy milk. After I already ate real dinner. I'm not even high.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Roast chicken with thyme I grew myself, shallots, celery, turnips, and a parsnip. I don't know why turnips and parsnips aren't more commonly used. While I don't know that turnip fries or baked turnips and sour cream would be any good, in this case, I think they're better than potatoes. And turnips always beat carrots.

 

[WileStyle]

Earlier I cooked a nice brekky for myself. First this year I think?
Fried bread, fried eggs, 2 free-range. Grilled sausages (smaller chipolatas) grilled tomato and bacon.
Splashed with Worcester sauce and BBQ sauce. Man, it was good. Hit the spot. Mr7 pinched 3 bits of crispy bacon. I turned a blind eye,lol.
No pics, I was hungry.

 

[Peter Deadpan]

Not today but yesterday, I made a buffalo chicken rice bowl thingy, with a mixture of wild and jasmine rice, chicken breast, cauliflower, bell pepper, onion, garlic, Frank's Red Hot sauce, and a healthy dose of bleu cheese. I wanted to add corn for sweetness and crunch, but I forgot. It was so fucking good that I lay in bed thinking about it for like an hour this morning, and then decided to delay morning coffee so I could eat it for breakfast without flavor conflict.

I'm about ready for round two.

 

[Tina&Jane]

I'm roasting peppers, onions, and chicken to put in quesadillas for lunch this week. Also recently made hummus and chickpea cookie dough bites.

 

[cascadeco]

I made a really delicious butternut squash soup, and added half a bag of kale greens to it as well, since I had it and thought it might go well. Most food dishes have a taste that matches the smell - ie if it smells amazing, it tastes amazing. This is something that did not smell fantastic while cooking, but the flavors were amazing. This has happened to before with a soup; I wonder if it's a soup thing. Anyway, the flavors in this soup aside from the aforementioned veggies were also carrots, a shallot, fresh sage, thyme, turmeric, nutmeg, and paprika.

I also made some GF drop biscuits since I needed more with that meal; a good pairing.

 

[Lexicon]

Made the most epic tuna sandwich for dinner:

Canned tuna, spicy guacamole, chopped celery, diced onion & jalepeno, with some paprika, on toasted whole wheat bread. Not complicated, but a really awesome combination of flavors/textures.


I really wanted some super-salty kettle cooked potato chips with it, but I don’t normally have that around (& it’s not worth going to the store just for that), so I sautéed some kale with avocado oil, salt, & pepper to have on the side instead.