ShellyMcG said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The only real difference with a bisque is that it has cream in it. It's still a soup. Yes, potato & leek soup is a meal. Big ol' piece of crusty bread on the side, maybe a salad. Not fattening, so you can go back for another bowl a little later.

My new beef stew is pretty great. I've refined the recipe over the years. It feels like a hot mess at first, but trust the process.

1 TBSP olive oil

3 lbs beef stew meat, cut into large chunks (medium bite size)

2 1/2 TBSP all-purpose flour

1/3 cup tomato paste

3 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1-2 long fresh oregano sprigs (or 1.5 TSP dried oregano)

1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary (or 3-4 sprigs unchopped) (dried isn’t great for this)

6 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed

1 pound white onions, peeled and cut into large chunks (about 2 large onions) (medium bite size)

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2” sections (medium bite size)

1 pound new potatoes, scrubbed, not peeled, halved if large chunks (medium bite size)

3 cups water + more as needed (see below for alternate option)

2 TSP salt + more to taste

1 TSP fresh ground black pepper

1.5 cups frozen corn (optional, see below)

1 TSP red wine vinegar (optional)

Note: you can use any herb bundle you wish. Tying the herbs together makes it easy to fish them out after cooking.

Preheat oven 350ºF/185ºC.

Preheat large cast iron pot (like a 6qt Le Creuset or Lodge). Add oil until shimmering.

In a bowl, toss beef and flour. Add beef to hot oil, brown on all sides. Work in batches if necessary as not to steam the meat. You want it to brown. Set cooked meat aside on plate until all meat is browned.

Add any remaining flour to the pot, plus tomato paste and vinegar. Work together until it's blended. About 3 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan.

Add herb or herb bundle, then layer in garlic, onions, carrots, and potatoes, 2 TSP salt, 1 TSP ground black pepper. Add meat and any juices from plate. Add water.

Bring to a vigorous simmer. Gently toss everything together. Some veggies will stick out of the top. That's fine.

Transfer covered pot to oven. Cook 90 minutes. Check water level, add another 1/3 cup water (at most) if necessary. The liquid won't and shouldn't cover all the ingredients.

Cook 1 more hour. If using corn, add corn 30 minutes from end of cooking (at 2 hour mark).
Overall, it cooks 2.5 hours total.

After 2.5 hours, remove pot, let sit covered for 15 minutes. Fish out the herbs and discard. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in red wine vinegar (this adds a subtle brightness to the end of it). Stir and serve.

___________

I know the tomato paste, balsamic and water seem the exact opposite of a good stew, but trust me. When it all comes together at 2.5 hours, it's magic and fucking amazing.

I am 100% going to try this tonight. Would it work with slightly less garlic though?

Totally. It's not a garlicy dish. You're just building flavor. The garlic will sweeten and dissolve into everything. Use your favorite herb bundle here, too. Thyme is pretty underrated for these things. Fresh oregano is very strong, so use less than dried. I'd stay away from basil. Just don't feel right.

TrivialPursuit said:

Right so I tried it with less garlic and one or two slight changes. I'm not a good cook. I'm actually known for being pretty bad in the kitchen. But this actually turned out really well. My son is a picky eater but even he loved it. I made way too much though but on the bright side, I don't need to worry about what we're having tomorrow

ShellyMcG said:

Right so I tried it with less garlic and one or two slight changes. I'm not a good cook. I'm actually known for being pretty bad in the kitchen. But this actually turned out really well. My son is a picky eater but even he loved it. I made way too much though but on the bright side, I don't need to worry about what we're having tomorrow

haha it makes a good batch. It's even better the second day. We always get a big baguette or something and toast it up with some butter and herbs. I've seen folks use a frozen veggie medley in it (like peas, carrots, corn) instead of just corn. I'm not big on peas, so I put the corn in if I think about it. The red vinegar at the end is what makes it. Just brightens it up ever so slightly.

TrivialPursuit said:

My son hates vegetables so I was lucky to get away with the ones I used, I don't think I could add more without some serious blowback

Most of the top guitar players say he was the goat, so there.

He had huge fingers, which were the key and he basically invented fuzz.

------------

My take: We need to get away from comic book films and start making and watcihng real movies. Dialogue and slow plot build up will not kill or bore.

2freaky said:

Lol...Prince did not invent fuzz tones at all...not even close...even Keith Richards was playing fuzz tones using a FZ-1 in the mid 60's...see: "Satisfaction"

This section has completely died.

onlyforaminute said:

This section has completely died.

Is that your hot take, or just you being you?

2freaky said:

My take: We need to get away from comic book films and start making and watcihng real movies. Dialogue and slow plot build up will not kill or bore.

I don't mind that. There's a place for comic book movies, but you touch on something here. There's a lack of creativity in Hollywood. While I get sourcing good material (novels, real-life stories, etc), there's also a laziness in just seeing a comic book and making it into a movie.

I'm using 2023 to read all of Toni Morrison's novels. (I'm on her third right now, but I've read it before I think.) These are things I wish were made into movies. (I think this one is going to be a limited series next year.) While it's fun to watch yet another fucking MCU movie, it almost feels like a commercial for excess and CGI coding. Where's the story? Oh, cuz of that easter egg at the end that will tie to three other movies? OH. Okay then.

I believe it's why movies from the past have more appeal sometimes. Fatal Attraction, as an example. It's really a slow, intense burn to the ending which is a big payoff. In contrast, the limited series on Paramount+ was balls.

I love finding little sleeper movies. Doesn't have to be some overly complicated emotional thing. It could be a dark comedy or whatever. BUt something off the beaten path that's coherent and not self-indulgent. Those things I love. I remember finding A Rumor of Angels two decades ago and just falling in love with it. No one's ever heard of it. But Ray Liotta, Vanessa Redgrave, Catherine McCormack, and Ron Livingston. I'd watch it anyday over another goddamn Captain America film.

TrivialPursuit said:

onlyforaminute said:

This section has completely died.

Is that your hot take, or just you being you?

ShellyMcG said:

I'm not a good cook. I'm actually known for being pretty bad in the kitchen.

You'd probably be better if you weren't so afraid of using too much garlic.

Seriously, garlic and onion are the building blocks of so many recipes and so many different flavors in almost every cultural cuisine. I'm half mexican and stan Indian food so I'd probably put cilantro up there as well.

You should be more fearful of not using enough garlic vs. too much garlic. I get if you or your fam don't like to chomp on a bigass chunk of onion or garlic straight no chaser, but as components in dishes they're more essential than the entree itself.

TrivialPursuit said:

The only real difference with a bisque is that it has cream in it. It's still a soup. Yes, potato & leek soup is a meal. Big ol' piece of crusty bread on the side, maybe a salad. Not fattening, so you can go back for another bowl a little later.

I think this is a cultural thing.

As a half mexican from the southwest when I moved to pacific northwest immediately I noticed all the restaurant portions are almost half the size and every restaurant Yelp! review is about how you can split an entree with your significant other and still have leftovers for work tomorrow. A lot of these places I have to get two entrees and case 'em both.

[Edited 6/7/23 17:24pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

I don't mind garlic myself. My son hates it so I don't really bother buying it. Besides, I don't cook many meals from scratch so I seldom have any need for it.

ShellyMcG said:

I don't mind garlic myself. My son hates it so I don't really bother buying it. Besides, I don't cook many meals from scratch so I seldom have any need for it.

The thing about cooking garlic like this is when garlic cooks down in a soup or stew, it softens, and sweetens. It's not the same as just putting minced garlic in a stir fry. I typically try to find those garlic cloves at the end of cooking, and using a wooden spoon I smash them against the side of the pot. It just dissolves them into the stew overall. It's a savory note, rather than that harsh pungent note we associate with garlic.

TrivialPursuit said:

S2DG said:

My soups are meals and hot pots have saved me when I've been sick.

Everyone's choosing their own adventure but for me, soup is a winter thing unless it's Gazpacho.

I make great soups. I love pasta e ceci, 16-bean pasta e fagioli, roasted potato & leek soup, homemade roasted tomato soup, Tuscan white bean soup, and more.

I've never had Gazpacho. It just seems like salsa. haha

I've made a few of those but I don't know WTF "pasta e ceci" is... I need to check that out!

I have a few soup cookbooks and I usually take as many recepices as I can find and wing it. Just thinking about hat roasted potato and leek soup is making me want to make soup

My gazpacho has chunks of facattia bread and a ton of fresh garlic and tomatoes with a few other things. When it's blended just right, with a good acidity balance, it's light and amazing for summer! Oh, and would never be confused with salsa

TrivialPursuit said:

ShellyMcG said:

I don't mind garlic myself. My son hates it so I don't really bother buying it. Besides, I don't cook many meals from scratch so I seldom have any need for it.

The thing about cooking garlic like this is when garlic cooks down in a soup or stew, it softens, and sweetens. It's not the same as just putting minced garlic in a stir fry. I typically try to find those garlic cloves at the end of cooking, and using a wooden spoon I smash them against the side of the pot. It just dissolves them into the stew overall. It's a savory note, rather than that harsh pungent note we associate with garlic.

Wow, you're not brand new with my favorite addition to every meal – this is some wise garlic teachings!

This thread is really making me hungry

I love how with Korean BBQ they sometimes give you some garlic cloves. Maybe you're supposed to put them on the grill, not sure, but I would just put them in with the meat & rice & eat.

Eating raw garlic like that is an experience. Clears your sinuses right up & seems to shoot into your brain.

S2DG said:

I've made a few of those but I don't know WTF "pasta e ceci" is... I need to check that out!

I have a few soup cookbooks and I usually take as many recepices as I can find and wing it. Just thinking about hat roasted potato and leek soup is making me want to make soup

Pasta e ceci (chee-chee) is pasta and chickpeas (garbonzo beans). I'm not a fan of chickpeas (except in hummus), but this is such an easy and delicious soup.

2oz bacon (2-3 strips)

1 carrot, cut in 1/2” pieces

1 rib of celery, cut in 1/2” pieces

1 white onion, chopped

4 whole garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

2 TSP anchovy paste (optional)

1/4 TSP red pepper flakes

2 TSP fresh minced rosemary

1 14oz can whole tomatoes, drained

2 15oz cans chick peas with their water

2 cups water

8 oz ditalini pasta (by weight, not cup measurement)

1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

1 TBSP lemon juice

salt & pepper as needed

.

In a food processor, process the bacon until it’s a smooth paste like quality.

Add carrot, celery, and garlic. Pulse about 10 times until it’s a fine texture. Add onion, and pulse 8-10 times. Onions should be slightly less processed than everything else.

Transfer mixture to a large pot like a dutch oven, add olive oil, and turn heat to medium.

Stir frequently, and cook until the vegetables cook, about 7-8 minutes. You don’t want them to brown, but you do want some fond (brown bits) on the bottom of the pot. You're trying to render the bacon down.

You just want to render the bacon down. If you have a lot of liquid in your pot at first, that’s just the vegetables releasing their liquid. Cook it down until it is mostly gone.

Add anchovy paste, red pepper, and rosemary to pot. Cook another minute.

In the food processor, process the tomatoes until they’re chopped, about 8 pulses. Leave a bit of texture to them, do not puree them. You can also use an immersion blender right in the can (after you drain them). Or you can use a can of chopped tomatoes but whole have more flavor.

Add tomatoes to pot and cook with vegetable mixtures. About 4 minutes.

Add chick peas (including the water in the can) to the pot. Add water, and 1 TSP salt.

Bring mixture up to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.

Stir in pasta, and cook about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Add parsley and lemon juice. Salt & pepper to taste.

Serve hot sprinkled with good Parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil.

[Edited 6/9/23 15:39pm]

PJMcGee said:

I love how with Korean BBQ they sometimes give you some garlic cloves. Maybe you're supposed to put them on the grill, not sure, but I would just put them in with the meat & rice & eat. Eating raw garlic like that is an experience. Clears your sinuses right up & seems to shoot into your brain.

I've never eaten it raw. I used to work at the Farmer's Almanac Store in the Mall of America when I lived in Minneapolis. We sold pickled garlic. Good lord, it was ...well, Welcome 2 the Garlic Experience. Older people loved it.

Have you ever had preserved lemons? That is an experience. I make them time to time, and normally you'd slice the rinds thin to use in a dish. But to pull a quarter of a lemon out of that salty & sugary brine and just eat it - FUCK. You'll never forget it.

TrivialPursuit said:

S2DG said:

I've made a few of those but I don't know WTF "pasta e ceci" is... I need to check that out!

I have a few soup cookbooks and I usually take as many recepices as I can find and wing it. Just thinking about hat roasted potato and leek soup is making me want to make soup

Pasta e ceci (chee-chee) is pasta and chickpeas (garbonzo beans). I'm not a fan of chickpeas (except in hummus), but this is such an easy and delicious soup.

2oz bacon (2-3 strips)

1 carrot, cut in 1/2” pieces

1 rib of celery, cut in 1/2” pieces

1 white onion, chopped

4 whole garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

2 TSP anchovy paste (optional)

1/4 TSP red pepper flakes

2 TSP fresh minced rosemary

1 14oz can whole tomatoes, drained

2 15oz cans chick peas with their water

2 cups water

8 oz ditalini pasta (by weight, not cup measurement)

1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

1 TBSP lemon juice

salt & pepper as needed

.

In a food processor, process the bacon until it’s a smooth paste like quality.

Add carrot, celery, and garlic. Pulse about 10 times until it’s a fine texture. Add onion, and pulse 8-10 times. Onions should be slightly less processed than everything else.

Transfer mixture to a large pot like a dutch oven, add olive oil, and turn heat to medium.

Stir frequently, and cook until the vegetables cook, about 7-8 minutes. You don’t want them to brown, but you do want some fond (brown bits) on the bottom of the pot. You're trying to render the bacon down.

You just want to render the bacon down. If you have a lot of liquid in your pot at first, that’s just the vegetables releasing their liquid. Cook it down until it is mostly gone.

Add anchovy paste, red pepper, and rosemary to pot. Cook another minute.

In the food processor, process the tomatoes until they’re chopped, about 8 pulses. Leave a bit of texture to them, do not puree them. You can also use an immersion blender right in the can (after you drain them). Or you can use a can of chopped tomatoes but whole have more flavor.

Add tomatoes to pot and cook with vegetable mixtures. About 4 minutes.

Add chick peas (including the water in the can) to the pot. Add water, and 1 TSP salt.

Bring mixture up to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.

Stir in pasta, and cook about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Add parsley and lemon juice. Salt & pepper to taste.

Serve hot sprinkled with good Parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil.

[Edited 6/9/23 15:39pm]

Now this is a real hot take !

Thanks, it sounds good and easy to make so it's on the menu this weekend.

ShellyMcG said:

I don't mind garlic myself. My son hates it so I don't really bother buying it. Besides, I don't cook many meals from scratch so I seldom have any need for it.

Yeah, it's a culinary necessity regardless of what he says. I really do get it, as a kid I would have told you I hated garlic and onions and then go microwave a Hot Pocket which is permeating with garlic and onions flavor.

You're super literal when you're a kid. He just doesn't want to chow down on thick chunks of garlic right out the sauce like some chicken marsala variants.


I guarantee he's eating all sorts of garlic loaded stuff as a kid, though. Any pizza variant is garlic city. Pretty much every dish other than oatmeal is gonna make some tangential-to-generous use of garlic. Just use granulated over minced.

[Edited 6/9/23 23:26pm]

ooh, chickpeas discussion.

Garbanzo hot take:

Hummus sucks. Pho, Hummus, Ciabatta, it's prolly the curmudgeonly miser in me but the last food trend that was worth its salt in spades was that Sourdough mania of the mid 90s. It's been all downhill since.

Only troo leg3ndary use of chickpeas/garbanzo is in some Indiae curry. Throw a couple in some in some leftover Saag. Maah goodness graciouss.

[Edited 6/9/23 23:20pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

I think his dislike for garlic comes from my cousin's husband. No matter what he would cook it would be loaded with garlic. Completely overpowering everything. The smell would be all over the house as well which is not a pleasant experience.

Here's another hot take. The Harry Potter books are all terrible if you're over the age of 12.

ShellyMcG said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

Yeah, it's a culinary necessity regardless of what he says. I really do get it, as a kid I would have told you I hated garlic and onions and then go microwave a Hot Pocket which is permeating with garlic and onions flavor.

You're super literal when you're a kid. He just doesn't want to chow down on thick chunks of garlic right out the sauce like some chicken marsala variants.


I guarantee he's eating all sorts of garlic loaded stuff as a kid, though. Any pizza variant is garlic city. Pretty much every dish other than oatmeal is gonna make some tangential-to-generous use of garlic. Just use granulated over minced.

[Edited 6/9/23 23:26pm]

I think his dislike for garlic comes from my cousin's husband. No matter what he would cook it would be loaded with garlic. Completely overpowering everything. The smell would be all over the house as well which is not a pleasant experience.

oh yeah he's ruined for life then. Nothing trumps childhood trauma. My step dad once force-fed me a tostada over a trashcan and I'll straight up go Bruce Banner if anyone starts offering me those with the slightest hint of unnecessary energy or enthusiasm. It's easily my #1 achilles heel in functional society.

lol did you see the Mayte thread got baleeted after you dared rock the boat on our man's penchant for the "Scandalous"? First rule of Prince fandom is we do not talk about 16 yr old Maytekthx.

ShellyMcG said:

Here's another hot take. The Harry Potter books are all terrible if you're over the age of 12.

I loved them at the time but I probably did stop at 12.

In my defense J.K. roflings took like a 10 year gap waiting for the movies to catch up or some B.S. Maybe that was just a rumor but I believed it as a kid and was bitter for the rest of the franchise existence, even as everyone I knew in college had hardback copies of the last book hunkered over their laptops on release week.

H.P. raised stakes Hot Take:

Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. It's the same shit. You Tolkein nerds stop acting holier than thou, you're all the same D&D ubergeeks.

[Edited 6/10/23 0:01am]

WhisperingDandelions said:

LoL was that really why it was deleted? Wow. Lesson learned I suppose

TrivialPursuit said:

No, never had preserved lemons, but I'll try them if I get the chance. Pickled garlic sounds good too.

I once tried garlic soup at a Spanish restaurant. Thought it was gonna be garlicky, of course, but it was mainly salty. At an old job they made a minestrone in the cafeteria that was infused with garlic. Delish.

PJMcGee said:

No, never had preserved lemons, but I'll try them if I get the chance. Pickled garlic sounds good too. I once tried garlic soup at a Spanish restaurant. Thought it was gonna be garlicky, of course, but it was mainly salty. At an old job they made a minestrone in the cafeteria that was infused with garlic. Delish.

I can't have too much garlic as a component, not gonna lie, my childhood is my mom laughing maniacally while adding piles upon piles and saying "this is so much garlic" while I giggled and nodded approvingly "I know!"

Too garlicky is like too spicy, it's only happened once or twice and I didn't utter the words as a pejorative, I basked in them.

Haven't ever had PURE garlic straight root no chaser, though. I used to get chicken marsala somewhere that had chunks of whole garlic, would spit them out after a couple bites, too... bitter? As a kid I regularly ate raw lemons no salt, however.

[Edited 6/10/23 23:03pm]

ShellyMcG said:

LoL was that really why it was deleted? Wow. Lesson learned I suppose

ha i don't know but my breakdown response did get me a liiiittle guilty like there was a .00000387% of a .000006748% fragment of a chance that some gen-Z n00b would run with the post and get him cancelled on some new gen-Z app. Maybe it's 'cause I never looked up the Scandalous lyrics even though I always knew they were about 17 year old Anna Fantastic.

[Edited 6/10/23 23:04pm]

WhisperingDandelions said:

I didn't know that Scandalous was about Anna Fantastic. And I'll go one better; I don't know who Anna Fantastic even is