What Are You Ingesting?

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

* urp *

[Darth Fluffy 302]

16 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

* urp *

Wyatt?

[Darth Fluffy 302]

I ended up having a more or less traditional Thanksgiving meal with some friends. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and pie.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Mrs. Prof and I had Zatarain's brand Jambalaya rice with Zatarain's brand Cajun sausage cut up and dispersed throughout it, all cooked in our handy-dandy Zojirushi-brand rice cooker. We had some excess pumpkin pie cupcakelets for dessert (Mrs. Prof is making the pies for today's belated Thanksgiving over at the in-laws' place). Both came out really good.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

3 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Mrs. Prof and I had Zatarain's brand Jambalaya rice with Zatarain's brand Cajun sausage cut up and dispersed throughout it, all cooked in our handy-dandy Zojirushi-brand rice cooker. We had some excess pumpkin pie cupcakelets for dessert (Mrs. Prof is making the pies for today's belated Thanksgiving over at the in-laws' place). Both came out really good.

I love Zatarain's rice. I rarely use it, because you have to actually cook it; I tend to get 'nuke for 90 seconds' rice.

I have never even seen Zatarain's brand Cajun sausage that I can recall. Is it basically Andouille sausage? I bet they do a good sausage.

We do not have decent Cajun food here, for the most part. You can generally find the fixin's if you look for them, though.

 

[Don Edwards 548]

The RV park we're in did a pot-luck. We brought deviled eggs and cranberry sauce.

Deviled eggs, I did a half-dozen eggs in each of three varieties. Regular with pickle relish, spicy, and curry. (I put signs on the latter two.) There were none left to bring home afterward.

My lady mixed some cinnamon into the can of cranberry sauce. Someone else brought two other varieties: one plain, one with orange juice mixed in. Any one of the three containers would have been enough.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

12 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I have never even seen Zatarain's brand Cajun sausage that I can recall. Is it basically Andouille sausage? I bet they do a good sausage.

No, their Andouille is a separate product. This is a Cajun Smoked Sausage. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zatarains-Cajun-Smkd-Ssg/305138605

8 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

My lady mixed some cinnamon into the can of cranberry sauce. Someone else brought two other varieties: one plain, one with orange juice mixed in. Any one of the three containers would have been enough.

We eschew cranberry sauce and go for Swedish lingonberries instead. They blend oh-so-well with turkey.

[mlooney 3,417]

For reasons, mainly do to needing more fiber in my diet, I ordered a 48 count box of instant oatmeal. I forgot that I don't really like normal rolled oats oatmeal. Well, I've now got emergency food.

[mlooney 3,417]

For reasons, I ordered a Pizza Hut "stuffed crust" pizza last night.  Later in the night, I found out that the "cheese" that they stuff the crust with is nasty when cold.  Weird texture and tastes "off".  2/10 will not order again.  Of course it will be several months before I order pizza again  

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

9 hours ago, mlooney said:

"cheese"

Yeah, I think it's some kind of gnarly provolone blend, formulated so that it melts better inside the dough. I'm just guessing, though, based on what I learned from certain pizzas in the Austin area when I was just out of college. They liked to brag about putting provolone on top of their pizzas, and this is what it reminds me of.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

Having some experience avec der Hut, what is stuffed in the crust is called "string cheese".

I never asked how to milk string, or how string milk gets turned into cheese.  I was afraid understanding the answer would be hazardous to my already damaged mind.

 

 

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

10 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

"string cheese"

Ah, that's a low-moisture mozzarella, if memory do serve. Very popular with the kiddiewinkies and their lunch boxen.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

I thought it involved string theorv

 

[Darth Fluffy 302]

Provolone on Pizza just sounds wrong. I'm not convolone, I just think mozzarella works better on pizza. Or in pizza, in this case.

Honestly, mozzarella is not that great for anything else, provolone would generally be a better choice.

[ijuin 572]

The use of Mozarella on pizza and pasta makes it the most-manufactured cheese in the Western world.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Boston-creme-pie-flavored Pop Tarts.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

The flavour I most strongly associate with Boston is molassas.  And Boston cream tastes nothing like that.

 

[mlooney 3,417]

Having a spot of tea.  Or course this is what I do every morning, but I thought it was important to share today.

[ijuin 572]

Why is it called a “spot”, anyway?

[mlooney 3,417]

3 minutes ago, ijuin said:

Why is it called a “spot”, anyway?

https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spo3.htm

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

Cold, leftover tortilla chips.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

I made canned biscuits with homemade from-scratch cream gravy for Mrs. Prof this morning. Okay, it was part cream, part Fairlife whole milk. Came out great. My only gripe is that I didn't put in enough salt, but I'd rather have that gripe than the alternative (too much salt). Mrs. Prof was happy with the whole shooting match. I am therefore pleased.

If anyone wants the gravy recipe, here 'tis. It's not easy, nor quick:

3 Tbsp. corn oil (corn oil works best, but substitute as you like)
3 Tbsp. flour (I use Wondra flour, since it doesn't clump)
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk (I use Fairlife, since it's lactose-free, but anything works since you're cooking it)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Rubbed Sage to taste
Thyme to taste

Before you start, combine your milk and cream in a container, preferably with a pour spout of some kind. Stir with a metal spoon so that they're well mixed. Clean off the spoon and keep it handy for later.

Heat a large saucepan (3 quart) or a large skillet/frying pan over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add oil and heat until it shimmers.

While whisking with a wire whisk appropriate for your pan, add your flour to the oil. Whisk until coated, then continue whisking until the flour turns light brown, around 6-8 minutes (I'm guessing - it may take longer). Do not let it smoke!!! Turn down the heat if it gets too hot.

Once your flour is at an acceptable shade of brown (not quite peanut butter brown), pour the cream/milk mix into the pan while whisking, gradually at first, then faster until everything is whisked in. Adjust the heat under your pan to medium, and start whisking at an easy speed, making sure you scrape the entirety of the bottom of the pan. Keep whisking until the liquid starts steaming and begins to look somewhat thick and shiny.

Put down your whisk for a few seconds and get your metal spoon from earlier. Dip it into the (now potential) gravy and remove it, then look at the back. Blow on the back to cool it down, then draw your finger across it. This is the old, "Does it coat the back of a spoon?" test. If your finger leaves a clean, non-grainy trail, your gravy is pretty close to being ready.  Now, use the spoon to dip out some (potential) gravy and let it pour back into the pan. If it's the thickness you want, declare it as official gravy and pull it off the heat. Serve with hot biscuits, bread, or any number of other things that just need some good cream gravy.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

Going to steam some Brussels sprouts. I'll add butter when they're done, and maybe some cheese.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

Just had a Polish sausage with sauteed onions and fries.

Not crazy about the poppy seed bun.  And I wish they would use a hearty brown instead of American yellow mustard.  But still a pretty good lunch deal.

 

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

15 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

If it's the thickness you want, declare it as official gravy and pull it off the heat. Serve with hot biscuits, bread, or any number of other things that just need some good cream gravy.

I had leftover biscuit (singular - wasn't terribly hungry) and gravy tonight. Added a touch of extra salt to the gravy, since as I said, I didn't put enough salt into the original batch Friday morning. Wound up tasting better than any gravy I've ever made, ever. Seriously.

A couple of the factors that helped in the original batch:

1. Corn oil. You wouldn't think it made much of a difference, but unless you're using pan drippings from something like bacon, sausage patties, or chicken fried steak, you're not going to get a better fat for the gravy. It's pretty much made solely for use in hot foods, according to one of the major cooking sites (either America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Country, or Bon Appetit - can't remember where I read it). Don't use it for cold foods (foods that will be served cold) like salads, cakes, and so on, they said, but for hot served foods, it's perfect. I agree.

2. Mixing cream and whole milk. This brought the fat content up in the milk side of the equation (roux + milk + spices = gravy), making the end result more silky. More cream might have been better, or it might have been overkill - some experimentation would be needed in order to tell.

A factor where it could have been improved:

1. Flour. I used something called Wondra flour (https://www.goldmedalflour.com/our-flour/wondra-quick-mixing-all-purpose-flour/). It's a pre-cooked and dried flour, supposedly, which allows it to blend into gravies with amazing alacrity. The end result is a near-perfect smoothness almost all the time, but at what cost? There could be some flavor lost in the roux-making process by using a pre-cooked flour. One could probably improve the roux by using a regular all-purpose flour that has been sifted to remove all lumps first, if you're skittish, or just gently added and very quickly whisked, if you're more trusting in your cooking skills (I'm not).

Now, why the hell am I going on and on about something so mundane as gravy? Because I was raised on the stuff by by grandparents and relatives (not my mother, unfortunately - her cooking left something to be desired except for spaghetti w/meat sauce). They made fantastic gravy, and it's been my life goal to replicate their efforts. I've finally accomplished that task. My relatives did not share their recipe nor their techniques with me. I have resolved not to be so secretive with my discoveries.

Besides, hell, I'm a longstanding Native Texan who lives on cream gravy, not one of these newcomer MAGA types who couldn't spell gravy if you filled a fountain pen with the stuff. It's my duty to learn how to make it, and my duty to pass down the recipe (my relatives were sorely remiss in their duties in that area). I've got to go on and on about it, it's my job.