<--has 6 kids

A new super easy and quick recipe that has turned into a grade schooler favorite here:

Cornbread mix. I use Marie Calendars.  It calls for like a cup of water, and stir. (That's IT) Add to that 6 rough chopped hot dogs. (I use 100% beef)

Spoon that into mini muffin tins, sprayed with pam, bake as directed on the mix. 12-15 minutes

"Corndog" muffins. Add ketchup or mustard on the side. Baked, not fried for the win.

Thanks chef, I'll have to give this a try on Saturday!

Chef, I'm dabbling in "Baked beans"  this week as a favor for my oldest son. God help his poor, long suffering Anna.

I've made "semi-scratch" baked beans with caned beans. Is there value to going all the way, and prepping dried beans to make this dish?

I assume you're using canned navy beans and adding brown sugar, pork fat, minced onions, molasses, dry mustard, ketchup, and...
I vote NO but purists will argue..and prepping beans isn't a big deal if you're going to make a gallon of baked beans, V opening 1/2 dozen
cans...and to me, YES the taste of the canned bean effects the end result of your recipe if you've a practiced palate.


I grew up on jarred Boston baked beans as the old standby until mother got her first freezer then..she went to town..
Mother and Dad adults of the depression who valued a months supply of food on hand at all times, gardening, and buying
meat by splitting the cow, pig and buying chickens 1/2 dozen at a time..  nothing canned tasted like Mothers from scratch baked beans
and with that freezer..I mean FREEZER (it was bigger than the refer in the kitchen) she'd make 2 gal of beans, 2 gal beef stew, 2 gal chicken soup
blanched fresh veggies etc  she stopped canning and froze EVERYTHING..most of it successfully..early experimenter in frozen foods, she figured
if Birdseye could do it, SHE could do it..
..
I have her recipe box somewhere,,I'll have to look it up when deep winter hits and I've time in the house and post a few of her recipes..

and in all honestly. as its just the wife and I...we buy Bush's baked beans which I've grown to prefer over the jarred brand...
and I do doctor them on occasions throwing in bbq sauce or salsa or fresh diced onion and tomato etc..we've only the freezer in the ice box
and a small under the counter upright that's big enough for our current needs...

but
I am currently finishing out the guest house at Chefs .45 Ranch with insulation and paneling this week/month and maybe I'll put a larger freezer in there
once it's finished.

Bless your heart!

Yeah, canned beans, sauteed onion, green pepper, and jalapeno in rendered bacon fat, then brown sugar, mustard, and bbq sauce into the mix. Oven at 325 for a few hours...I can knock this out pretty quick, and was hoping the canned beans wouldn't be awful enough to trigger my OCD, and make me want to spend many more hours on this project.

Chef, I need some help with pate a choux.

Have tried making eclairs a couple times now, the pastry dough bakes into a hard flatbread, there are no air pockets in it. Any suggestions?

Walk me threw your process

Recipe from cooks illustrated:
2 tbsp whole milk
5 tbsp butter
6 tbsp water
Pinch salt
1.5 tsp sugar
2.5 oz flour
2 eggs and 1 egg white

Milk, butter, water, sugar and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until it simmers

Add flour, wait until beads of fat are on the pan, then place in bowl

Whisk in the blended eggs.pipe it still warm on to pan and bake 15 min at 400 F.

Pull them out, poke a hole in each pastry, and put back in the oven for 10 min at 350 F.

At this point I just leave them out while I make pastry cream. Result is that they are absolutely flat. I have to sandwich the pastry shells this way. Will get pics

Chef,

I currently make pot roast using a slow cooker receipt I learned on YouTube. See below.



How do you like to cook your pot roast? What method do you use? A receipe would be appreciated.

Thank you Sir.

first, if you're a newb pâtissier, Choux takes lots and lots of practice....if you're an old hand chef pâtissier ...you're screwing it up..



have you not poked a hole and just piped, baked and finished?

have you tried to cook the choux over a double boiler rather than over dry heat.I was trained to use a double boiler

tried a two man job? are you constantly whipping while someone else adds the flour and then the eggs.If you're not...that can lead to your issue as well. not whipping enough air into the choux..

Cooks Illustrated? that still around? truthfully. that's a weak recipe...far too small a batch for successful outcome and the oven temps wrong and the sugar is weighing down the choux, makes it too heavy to rise properly.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

Choux aka
Eclair or cream puff shells

Grease a cookie sheet.

1/2 cup butter  
1 cup water  
1 cup all-purpose flour  
1/4 teaspoon salt  
4 eggs

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low or transfer to a double boiler and add flour and salt.
Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball.
Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition.

use a spoon or Fill a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake 20 minutes more,
they should be hollow sounding when held, turned and lightly tapped on the bottom.
Cool completely on a wire rack.




pastry cream filling

2 cups milk  
1/4 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg  
1/4 cup cornstarch  
1/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons butter  
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.

When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.


good question and a FIRST....

sad...makes one want to cry like a new born..

not a crock pot guy though appreciate their propensity and ease for many..I prefer oven roasting...

secondly there are a dozen pot roast recipes in the 200+ pages of these threads but for shits and giggles..

here's one more

3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast  
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour  
2 tablespoons olive oil  
1/2 cup water  
1/2 cup red wine  
1 teaspoon dried basil  
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram  
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme  
1 teaspoon salt  
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper  
1 onion, sliced  
6 red potatoes, washed and halved  
6 carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths  
8 pearl onions, peeled and halved  


Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F
sprinkle the roast evenly with the flour and set aside. Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof Dutch oven with lid over medium-high heat. Brown the roast on all sides, about 10 minutes total; remove from the heat. Pour in the water and wine. Sprinkle with the basil, marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper. Arrange the onion slices on the roast.

Replace the cover and bake in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Add the potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions. Pour in additional water if the roast looks dry. Continue baking covered until the roast pulls apart easily with a fork, about 1 hour longer.


of course, always sub fresh herbs for dried when ever possible..

thanks for stopping by!

Chef, school me on jalapeno's, and how cooking time reduces the heat.

I made scalloped potatoes with jalapeno's for the first time yesterday, and felt NO heat when served. TWO jalapeno's, seeded and diced left NO heat after being cooked at 350 for two hours.  

I think I cooked all the heat out of those peppers.

Advice?

I think your milk and potatoes leeched the heat out..

Ok, how can I fix that next time?

well, It's a chemical reaction....so not much beyond adding the peppers 1/2 way thru or at the end of the cooking process.
Without getting too into the chemistry, capsaicin, the stuff that makes peppers HOT,  has a long hydrocarbon tail, meaning it binds strongly with lipoprotein receptors on the tongue.

Capsaicin doesn’t dissolve in water, so water doesn't effect it much, but it does dissolve in alcohol and vegetable oils. but MILK..  
contains casein, a fat-loving substance that essentially has a detergent effect on the capsaicin, just like soap has on grease. But it has to be mammal’s milk – coconut milk does not contain casein.

Potatoes act like a sponge during the cooking process, expressly salt, they also extract flavor when cooked with other items...one of the reasons you salt potatoes AFTER cooking,

again....not a solution to your problem  

Thank you Chef!

Chef, I made 2 batches of the eclairs with your recipe, turned out great! The high heat and double boiler certainly helped.

I now have another question, and I checked the index- any recipes for beef cheek? I bought a package of this on sale yesterday, need some ideas on how to cook it.

Thanks

glad the new recipe worked for you along with the tips..

beef cheeks...


that's something Bernie Sander people eat, no?




seriously..i"ll try to get some up in the morning or tomorrow afternoon...long day...and have tired an old man out..

Barbacoa..

3 pounds beef cheek meat  
1 tablespoon olive oil  
1/4 cup salt  
2 teaspoons ground cumin  
ground black pepper to taste  
2 cups water, or more as needed  
1/2 yellow onion, halved and thickly sliced  
3 cloves garlic, chopped


Coat beef cheek meat with olive oil. Rub salt, cumin, and pepper into meat. Wrap meat in aluminum foil and refrigerate, 4 hours to overnight.
Pour water into a slow cooker.
Arrange onion and garlic around beef cheek meat in the aluminum foil. Wrap foil tightly around meat and vegetables. Add a second sheet of aluminum foil around meat mixture, sealing tightly; place in the slow cooker.
Cook on Low, adding more water if it has evaporated, until meat is very tender, 7 to 8 hours. Remove foil packet from slow cooker and shred meat using 2 forks.



braised beef cheeks.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (12-oz) beef cheeks, trimmed of excess fat
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 celery rib, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups red wine (preferably a dry Lambrusco or Chianti)
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole tomatoes including juice, chopped (3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in an ovenproof 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While oil is heating, pat beef cheeks dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown beef, without crowding, on all sides, about 20 minutes total, and transfer with tongs to a bowl. Pour off fat from pot, then add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and cook onion, carrot, and celery over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Stir cocoa powder into vegetable mixture, then add wine and scrape up any brown bits. Increase heat to high and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
Return cheeks (with any juices) to pot and add tomatoes with juice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then braise, covered, in middle of oven until very tender, about 3 hours.

Beef cheeks improve in flavor if made up to 2 days ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, surface covered with parchment paper or wax paper and pot covered with lid. Remove any solidified fat before reheating.

Hi Chef, Me again

There are a few things I generally order at every new restaurant, if they are on the menu. 1) Muscles  2) Scallops 3) any cheese plate

I have never really cooked Mussles or scallops before, but I can rock out a cheese platter every day of the week, so am good there.

I went to Selanne's this past weekend. OMFG. Best scallops I've ever had. Bar none. Me, being me, finds the recipe online, but I wanted to actually cook my own personal scallop  to make sure i know what I am doing, before going all in.... and finding the necessary fermented black garlic.

OK, the cooking of the scallop was pretty spot on, with one REALLY big issue. How in the hell do I get the sand/grit/whatever out of these things? I bought from a highly reputable seafood chain, that supplies most restaurants here, and spend $30.00 #

Every one I cooked had an element of "grit" when eaten.

Now with clams, I throw them in a big pot with a bit of flour, and they seem to de-grit themselves. Those clams are alive though, I bought these juicy suckers in dead mound of freshly killed goodness.

Please tell me you can help!

I'm sure at some point I'll be here on a 911 mission with muscles, but not today.

I assume you removed the gritty muscle flap on the side? Though some people eat this and call it "the nut"

I also assume these were NOT sold as "Diver scallops" if they were, you were ripped off
Dry pack scallops can also be "grittyer' than wet pack scallops and of course saute better as they've no absorbed excess water or contain a
chemical called "STP" IIRC...which causes them to absorb even more water, increasing weight.
There's actually a whole process for de-gritting scallops  http://www.seafish.org/media/Publications/datasheet_96_02_FT.pdf

The only thing I know to do is to rinse quickly under running water and pat dry with a paper towel before cooking.

I did cut off the muscle, bought them here: http://www.santamonicaseafood.com/ And they were very tasty, but grit in each one. I rinsed quickly, and then patted dry. Maybe a longer rinse?

was the meat interior "gritty"?

Yes, not a bunch of grit, but defiantly a bite of sand on the interior.

don't know....

$30 a pound....thinkin I'd switch to skate..

Okay Chef, I'm sure you've got this one before but I can't find it.

In terms of keeping knives sharp when it comes to a steel.  I think I need a honing steel....do I also need a sharpening steel?  I see combo ones from shun and am looking for suggestions.

if you've already a satisfactory means to sharpen your knives, Arkansas wet stone, crock stones etc then you don't "need" a sharpening steel.
the honing steel keeps your edge straight and if used regularly, evenly, you'll rarely need the sharpening stones, maybe once a week if you're
working at cooking, once a month if you're a daily home cook, if you're a casual home cook 2 to 3 times a year. sharpening steels. Courser versions on
the honing steel, can wear a knife out pretty quick from what I know of them..
thanks for stopping by!

Thanks much for the response!  So if I get a Ken Onion Work Sharp and sharpen my knives every few months....I can use a traditional hone occasionally to straighten out the edge without needing any type of abrasive hone?  correct?

correct..and you're welcome//

Chef,

I know your first thread has apple pie in it, but I can't make google show me the page with the recipe.



So... apple pie? I have a recipe I really like, but I'm interested in alternatives.

I will,,chef is traveling this weekend thru tuesday,,,,

I am sorry it took me so long to get back to this...just been one of those weeks... know the answer is easy peasy, but,,,I been busy yo....

Pie Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour  
1 3/4 cups shortening  
3 tablespoons white sugar  
2 teaspoons salt  
1 egg  
1/2 cup water

In a large mixing bowl, (or if you're uber talented chef, on a lightly floured cutting board)combine all-purpose flour, shortening, sugar, and salt.
Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly and shaped into a "bowl"

In a small bowl, mix egg with water and then Blend into flour mixture above.

Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.


Pie 1
1 enough pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie  
1/2 cup unsalted butter  
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour  
1/4 cup water  
1/2 cup white sugar  
1/2 cup packed brown sugar  
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.


or..

Pie 2
8 large Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and cut into 1/8 inch slices  
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice  
3 tablespoons potato starch  
3/4 cup white sugar  
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg  
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces  
1 enough pastry for a 10-inch double crust pie  
2 teaspoons milk  
1 tablespoon white sugar


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F Position an oven rack in the lower part of the oven and place a baking stone on it.

Place the apples into a large mixing bowl, and toss with the lemon juice.
Stir the potato starch, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl.

Roll out half of the pie crust pastry on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 10 inch pie plate. Pile half the apples into the crust, and dot with half the butter pieces. Sprinkle half of the potato starch-cinnamon sugar mixture over the apples. Pile the remaining apples into the pie plate. Sprinkle with the remaining butter pieces and sugar mixture. Roll out the remaining pie crust pastry, and place carefully over the apples. Pinch and crimp the edges to seal the crusts. Use a fork to poke holes in the top crust in a few places. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Place the pie in the preheated oven on the baking stone. Immediately lower the heat to 350 degrees F   Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 60 minutes. Check half way through the baking time, and cover the edges with aluminum foil for the last 30 minutes if necessary to prevent over-browning. Cool 2-3 hours on a wire rack before serving.


there, easy as pie..
CHEF

Chef Morris,

The request for your apple pie recipe by watercat reminded me that I also have trouble finding anything using the old index, which inspired me to begin drafting a NEW IMPROVED version. I have posted a page-by-page listing of (most) recipes and discussions from your original Ask the Chef thread, currently up through page 75. I hope to eventually expand this into a complete index and also update the index for this thread.

Updating the list has reminded me what a great resource you have been and just how many recipes and topics that thread discovered. It really is amazing! Thanks for all these years of service to the aspiring cooks of AR15.com!

Btw, my favorite posts were your SHTF recipes for bugs (followed by pot meats). Thanks Again!

you are VERY welcome..and THANK YOU for once again tackling the organization of these threads it is a YUGE Job..and you should
be applauded by many..

ahh yes. my recipes for bugs and Bugs...forgotten...and also hard to believe it's been 6 years 2010, as I'm thinking I started this when I was living in San Diego...8 years ago...  who knows..my memory is for sheite...

Bravo to you sir for taking up the challenge..

CHEF

FYI for Followers of this thread:

The page-by-page listings of recipes and topics at the bottom of the index page for this thread has been updated up to page 64.

Updated Index coming soon!


Index now Updated!!!


The index for the Original ASK THE CHEF thread has also been updated. Enjoy!

Hey, Chef Morris, your link above reminds me that (according to the indexes) you haven't posted any popcorn recipes!

I like popcorn of just about any kind but still prefer to make it in a skillet on the stove. That makes it hard to stir in flavorings (other than simple spices) but I can use the Whirley-Pop for those. I also like to stir on a caramel sauce once in a while and then bake it on in the oven.

Funny story: A young relative completing Culinary Arts School was lamenting to her Mother that she was out of microwave popcorn. Her Mother told her to just pop it on the stove. "You can do that????"

I need to make some of my Grandmother's popcorn balls. She always made them at Halloween. I liked hers better than Mom's because Grandma put food coloring in the syrup making her popcorn balls turn out pretty colors.

My wife used to make popcorn balls with molasses. It took me a while to get used to it but I haven't had one of those in over 20 years, I guess she lost the recipe.

A favorite summertime supper for my family was popcorn and apples. That was the whole meal- one apple each and all the popcorn we could eat. We usually had them on a family game night of board games or playing cards or dominoes or something.

I've seen recently that you don't HAVE to have popcorn, some regular dent corns pop fine. I've also seen that the don't have to have popCORN- seed catalogs are now offering some types of popping sorghum.

thank you!

did you not watch the video above? do you not see the dangers of popcorn..look what happened to a trained professional!!!




I"ll work on something today..

Thank you Chef!



And thank you Skunkum!

POPCORN.....


not the aforementioned disastrous popcorn...well, maybe not..

Caramel Popcorn
cup butter  
2 cups brown sugar  
1/2 cup corn syrup  
1 teaspoon salt  
1/2 teaspoon baking soda  
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  
5 quarts popped popcorn

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.


popcorn seasoning1
1/4 teaspoon onion powder  
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed  
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder  
1/8 teaspoon salt  
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper  
1/8 teaspoon vegetable oil
mix together and toss with HOT popcorn..

an

and of course being Arfcom

BACON POPCORN  
1/2 cup bacon grease  
3/4 cup un-popped popcorn kernels  
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste  
3 tablespoons bacon bits (optional)  
1 cup shredded Cheddar chees


Measure the bacon grease into a 6 quart pot and place over high heat. Add one or two popcorn kernels as testers. When the test kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn and cover with a lid. As the popcorn starts to pop, shake the pan back and forth constantly to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom where they can pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pan from the heat and let it finish popping.

Pour the popcorn into a large bowl or paper sack. Season with half of the seasoned salt and stir. Taste before adding more salt if desired. Toss with bacon bits and shredded Cheddar cheese for an extra special treat. Store leftovers in lunch sacks or sandwich bags.



lastly
pop your corn as you prefer..(even young culinary tossers who don't understand we once did it over live coals in a metal box) toss with coconut oil, olive oil or melted butter and toss in your spice cabinet one by one till you find your favorites, curry power, onion power, garlic powder, seseme seeds, use seasoned salts/spice blends like Tony Cachre' Paul Prudhomes or Emeril's
just as a simple means to change things up, think outside the box on flavoring....

Mange

CHEF

Wow, Chef, Thanks!

See, this is why you are the Chef! I have been making popcorn in bacon drippings for many years and it is my hands-down favorite. Now you come along and say "add 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese!"  GENIUS!!! I know what's going on my next batch....


PS: My sister taught me to stir about a cup of grated white chocolate/almond bark over the hot popcorn. Kids LOVE it and will slap your hands away if you try to grab more than your share.

We're going to be making filet mignon and beef carpaccio for a July 4th dinner. Do you have any suggestions about what flavors or varieties of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and/or cheese to top the carpaccio? In the past, we've just done regular extra-virgin olive oil, and while delicious, we'd like to try something new.

2 eggs  
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard  
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice  
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil  
1 cup vegetable oil  
2 dashes hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™), or to taste  
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce  
salt and pepper to taste  

8 ounces frozen thinly sliced beef tenderloin carpaccio.  
1 tablespoon capers, for garnish  
1 lemon, cut into wedges

In the container of a blender, combine the eggs, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a dash of hot sauce. Cover and pulse to mix. Start the blender on medium speed and let run while pouring in the olive oil, and then the vegetable oil, in a thin continuous stream until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and blend for about 10 seconds more. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

Arrange the frozen beef on a serving plate in a semi-circle. Drizzle the sauce over the meat. Garnish with capers and freshly ground black pepper and squeeze a little lemon juice over the top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.


so, dinner around 8,,?
bottle of Chateau Nuf De Pape...??

Thanks Chef! Sounds delicious! Too bad I can't have any of it.



We're going to be at a friend's ranch shooting guns, shooting fireworks, and eating delicious food.  Does the Chef family have any delicious plans?