Culinary Conversations

[worth1]

It looks like it has a very comfortable handle.

Very comfortable unless your hands are greasy.
Like cutting up a fatty brisket.

[worth1]

I had some shriveled up sweet peppers like the little red yellow and orange ones you get at the store.
I had a pepper less jalapeno quart jar with the brine solution still in it.
It came from large can of peppers in bought.
It put the sweet peppers in it and let it sit for a week.
Tried one last night it was really good too.

[worth1]

I'm watching Sam the cooking guy this morning and they are discussing the shape of a tortilla chip he had just cut from a round tortilla.
They had no idea what the shape was called.
I'm reality they have no idea what a lot of stuff is or called.
It's a triangle with one round side.
The proper mathematical name is drumroll..........
A sector in other words a section of a circle..

Worth bringing you yet another Saturday addition of maths in the kitchen.

[worth1]

I bought a pork picnic skin on roast.
I can't make my mind up what to do with it.
The smoked BBQ pulled pork roast is so over done and I don't like it anyway.
Not saying I won't eat it but if a choice I'd get something else.
I thought about a small ham but not a huge fan of ham.
Not a lot of options out there.
Possibly braising it in apple cider would be an option.


One black guy on YouTube from Georgia or some place git ticked when I posted that running a smoker with the roast in a pan and covered up was a waste of wood and energy.
Just finish it in the oven.
He said your obviously not from the south if you don't understand or some such rot.
I replied I'm from Texas.
He was accusing me of being a Yankee I suppose.
Plus he shredded it.
I ain't heard back.
This is the usual case when everyone is going on about somebody and I come along and make a suggestion or disagree.
But back to this darned picnic roast.
What to do.
The main reason is I don't want to stand around an offset smoker all day.
Or do I.

[karstopography]

https://www.foodandwine.com/pork-picnic-roast-7973645

The link has the pork picnic getting roasted to where the skin is crispy. Crispy pork skin is about the best thing in the world. They have an herb, garlic and dijon mustard rub and a pan sauce at the end, Sounds good to me.

[worth1]

I decided to try something I've always wanted to try but probably sounds disgusting to many.
If anyone else is doing it I haven't found it.
Ingredients are.....
1.5 to 2 cans of orange soda pop.
Black pepper.
Garlic powder.
A ton of ginger powder.
Big dollops of ginger paste.
Annatto powder.
I think that's about it nothing crazy.
It's marinating in a Dutch oven as we speak.
It'll go in the oven in about an hour.

IMG_20241208_133821545.jpg

[worth1]

I won't be running out of kitchen bouquet anytime soon.
I keep running across this stuff.

IMG_20241215_111131662_HDR.jpg

[pepperhead212]

I don't think my Mom ever ran out of that stuff!

[worth1]

I don't think my Mom ever ran out of that stuff!

It accidentally fell off the shelf at my local HEB grocery store some time ago.
I made a phone call to corporate and asked what the deal was.
The lady said her mom used it and it would be put back on the shelf and it was a mistake.
About a couple of weeks later there it was back in stock.
I was out for awhile.

[worth1]

Picked up walnuts Brazil nuts and dates for another cake in the works.

[worth1]

Forgot a couple of things and the Bastrop HEB was swamped at 6:30 AM.
So I stopped off at another HEB in the Austin area on the way to work to get the stuff.
It wasn't swamped because there are several in the area.
I can't believe they haven't considered another store out in Bastrop some place.
I swear people must camp out waiting for the store to open.

[worth1]

I've got my quart of heavy whipping cream 3 pounds of bacon ends and pieces and a pound of summer sausage wrapped up in my arctic coat and it's overcast.
The bacon is the HEB dry cured stuff I always buy and it's just not all layed out pretty.
The summer sausage brand is Slovacek'sfrom here in Texas.

[worth1]

The Mexican market and restaurant was packed today on the way home from work.
I needed strong yellow onions and yellow corn tortillas for cheese and onion enchiladas today.
They were playing Christmas music too.

[worth1]

Pregrated vs home grated cheese.
#1 grated cheese is normally more expensive.
#2 grated cheese has other stuff to keep it from sticking together.
#3 grated cheese extra ingredients isn't all the same.
Some is just corn starch other cheaper stuff has wood cellulose in it plus other things.
Not for sure about the cheese with just corn starch or potato starch but the other stuff melts miserablely.
Then when it cools off it looks like plastic.
Basically in my experience it doesn't reheat well either.
Nor does it live well on a self serve by the slice place.
I think many chain pizza places use the cheapest pregrated pizza cheese they can find because it shows up in the final product.

I'm picky as hell about my pizza and refuse to eat it at chain pizza restaurants.
Especially places like Double Dave's.
In my opinion it's not fit for the dogs.
But I have been to many great pizza places that were one off restaurants.
One was a pub like place in Oceanside California that served a wonderful square pan Sicilian style pizza.
Another was the drive-in theater in 29 Palms California.
Several in Austin one called the Pizza Garden that closed due to COVID-19.
It wasn't fast food either.
You were going to be there for awhile and the place was pretty high end.
They served other stuff as well.
The inside was very rustic and nice.
I recall the time my wife was with me and I said we were going somewhere special because she wanted god's chicken and I just drove past the place.
She was ticked.
We were on our way to naturel Gardener nursery out in Oak Hill.
Knowing I hated pizza she was flabbergasted when I pulled into the pizza garden.
She had never heard of the place.
It was in an old historical stone building next to the highway.

https://austin.eater.com/2021/1/8/22221 ... g-oak-hill

[Sue_CT]

It’s sad that it is closing.

[worth1]

It’s sad that it is closing.

It's been closed for awhile now.
I don't think they were able to reopen after COVID-19 and takeout sales weren't enough to keep them going.
It's a coffee place or something now.

[worth1]

Boars head recall findings.
It's pretty bad.
https://www.newsweek.com/cause-boars-he ... ed-2013697

[worth1]

The last Trudy's TexMex restaurant is closing in Austin.
My wife and I used to eat at the one by the university almost every Sunday for breakfast.
We would go there after our morning ride in the hill country on my motorcycle.

I'm sure @karstopography has been there or knew about the place.
Seems like every week another place in Austin closes down.

[karstopography]

The last Trudy's TexMex restaurant is closing in Austin.
My wife and I used to eat at the one by the university almost every Sunday for breakfast.
We would go there after our morning ride in the hill country on my motorcycle.

I'm sure @karstopography has been there or knew about the place.
Seems like every week another place in Austin closes down.

Know about it, a high school friend that was a groomsman in my wedding cousin started Trudy’s with her husband way back when. My friend worked during one summer in Trudy’s restaurant off south Lamar. I think her husband’s last name was Truesdale or something like that.

As far as I inow, My friend’s family hasn’t been involved in the restaurant in decades. There was some family drama or a divorce, but Trudy’s was popular restaurant or local to Austin chain of restaurants way back when.

[worth1]

I was getting low on onions so I stopped at the Mexican market and picked up 4 pounds for about 3 dollars.
Oven roasted onions on the schedule.
Also got some lard from making carnitas.
Not the snow white processed stuff.