Recipes, kitchen tips and tricks

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Sassy Colombian said:
Thanks @mezzrow

I certainly want to hear how you make a proper pot of grits. I make some shrimp and grits that are pretty delicious so I'm hoping I'm making my grits right. What's the trick?
Click to expand...
It's about infusing every part of it with flavor and extracting as much good out of the shrimp as it has to give.

Mezzrow's Shrimp and Grits

First, get some fresh shrimp. If you don't want to work hard, spend your money and get big ones. Work harder and get smaller ones if you're like me. Either way, it's good. You'll see measurements by proportion where it matters below, especially concerning the grits, but much of this is kind of freeform.

Peel your shrimp, save the shells, cover the shrimp with ice and put back in fridge while you put the shells in a pot with an onion (peel and all) sliced in half, a carrot chopped in chunks, celery if you have some, Zatarain's shrimp boil if you have some of that OR if you don't put in a bay leaf, black peppercorns, some Old Bay, a pinch of dried chile flake, a couple whole garlic cloves. Don't adjust the stock for salt until you strain it all out at the end. Cover with water, bring to boil, turn down, let it go about 30 minutes, strain it out and set aside - store what you don't need. Go brine the shrimp while this cooks down if you want this to be as good as it can, but don't forget to drain them and recover with water and more ice after 30 minutes.

Now you have shrimp stock. We can get somewhere now.

The Grits.

Next get some decent grits. You don't have to go get the artisanal stuff that you cook for a day, but that's really good if you are that OCD. I don't do that. The cheapest white quick grits on the shelf won't do either. My choice is a good yellow corn (not hominy) based stone ground product from anywhere between Arkansas and Carolina. This is what I'm using right now, and it's good.

Grits are 1 part dry to 4 parts wet + fat and seasoning. That's basically it. This is based on 1 cup of liquid to 1/4 cup of grits, and you can scale from there.
Over medium low heat, add 1/4 cup of milk and 3/4 cup of shrimp stock to the pot and stir in 1/4 cup of grits, salt to taste, and a tablespoon of butter. Stir it with a whisk until it starts to come to a boil. When it starts to tighten up, throw in a chunk of cream cheese about as big as your thumb. Switch to a wooden spoon, and keep stirring like you're making risotto. You want to convert the hard grits into a creamy wonderful thing, and you won't get that if you don't stir. When the desired consistency is about a minute away, stop. Go cook your shrimp now. You'll bring this back with some heat and some more liquid when you're ready to serve.

The Shrimp

Put together a spice mix of equal parts adobo, granulated garlic, Badia Sazon Tropical, fresh ground pepper and salt. Of course you'll adjust this to what you like, but I like this. Drain the shrimp. DRY THE SHRIMP. You don't want steamed shrimp. Season the shrimp liberally, and add some olive oil. Set aside for a few minutes while you get about a cup of shrimp stock for the gravy. Yes, this has gravy.

To a pan on medium high heat, add your oiled and seasoned shrimp one at a time until the pan is loosely full. Turn them carefully when seared on each side until just done, with a slightly crunchy layer of spice encasing a tender heart. After you have finished the shrimp, you will find a layer of fond in the pan that you will now deglaze with that cup of shrimp stock. Cook it down, add some cream or cold butter to tighten it up.

Put some grits and some shrimp on a plate. You know what to do with gravy. If you don't, wire Sam Allardyce for his top tips.

Todas a la mesa y comer!!
 
Made Roi Choi's spaghetti again for the second time.

www.lamag.com

How to Make Roy Choi's $4 Spaghetti

It’s a baller recipe on a budget
www.lamag.com www.lamag.com

$4 Spaghetti (Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients
Sauce
¼ pound button mushrooms, whole
¾ cup garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of whole peeled
Tomatoes
Salt and pepper

The Rest (amounts up to you . . . )
Spaghetti
Fresh basil, torn
Parmesan Reggiano

Instructions
After a quick brushing off of any dirt, put the mushrooms in a large pot and cover them with about 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Strain the mushroom stock after about an hour and a half and reserve.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic and olive oil in a small saucepan and cook over the lowest flame possible, low and slow, for about 2 hours, stirring periodically until the garlic is a dark golden brown.
When the garlic is done, add the tomatoes along with all of their juice to another large pot. Bring the tomatoes to a boil then add the garlic confit to the pot, including the oil.
Add the mushroom stock to the tomato-garlic mixture, one gallon at first, and blend with a stick blender. You are looking for a smooth consistency. Add more stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Turn down the heat to the lowest flame and cook for about 2 hours, stirring the sauce periodically. Check for flavor and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.
Heat up a big pot of water, add ½ teaspoon of salt and a touch of olive oil, and bring it to a boil. Cook the spaghetti just until it’s al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain and divide the spaghetti between all the bowls. Toss immediately with the sauce-about a cup of sauce for each bowl of spaghetti. Garnish with the basil and Parmesan Reggiano.

********

My own notes:
1) Poaching garlic: poach on the lowest--LOWEST--possible flame/burner setting. The cloves should look like they aren't even cooking; only a bubble or two should be bubbling up from the pan. Cook for like 1.5 hours. If you cook correctly, the garlic will mash like butter, and you can store it in a jar in the fridge for about a week or two...I do this alot and when hungry open the jar and mash a clove or two on good bread.
IMG_6409.jpg

2) This sauce is delicious and you can't go wrong with using too much olive oil and garlic cloves. I dumped all of the above into three cans of organic tomatoes, added salt/pepper, mushroom stock, and simmered for about an hour. (that's only a 6 inch fry pan, not a 12 inch, by the way)

3) Slice the mushrooms before boiling...I mean why not maximize their surface area.

4) My opinion: Unlike what the recipe says above, cook the spaghetti less-than-al-dente and then finish off cooking the spaghetti in the slightly watery sauce in a separate fry pan so it soaks up more flavor as it finishes cooking and more water boils off the sauce (this is the key to making good linguine and clam sauce as well).

5) Use fresh basil. But you can use dried basil and cheaper parmesean (versus fresh basil and parm), but if you do, add these last, not while cooking but rather as a topping and/or as the final step when cooking spaghetti/sauce before plating. Don't be shy with dried basil, as it is subtle, but treat the fresh stuff with more respect and apportion reasonably.

6) This spaghetti is a slow-burn so to speak. It's not gonna hit your mouth with a WOW, the way a sugary pastry does, but it will taste good at first bite, and with every subsequent bite it gets better. It's more like alcohol than crack--you don't realize you're addicted until your 25th bite and you're already going back for seconds after leaving your wife and kids and waking up in a ditch with indigestion. It's something about the depth of the mushroom stock with the delicate "roundness" of the poached garlic olive oil that keeps you hooked.
 

verreauxi said:
Made Roi Choi's spaghetti again for the second time.

www.lamag.com

How to Make Roy Choi's $4 Spaghetti

It’s a baller recipe on a budget
www.lamag.com www.lamag.com

$4 Spaghetti (Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients
Sauce
¼ pound button mushrooms, whole
¾ cup garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of whole peeled
Tomatoes
Salt and pepper

The Rest (amounts up to you . . . )
Spaghetti
Fresh basil, torn
Parmesan Reggiano

Instructions
After a quick brushing off of any dirt, put the mushrooms in a large pot and cover them with about 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Strain the mushroom stock after about an hour and a half and reserve.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic and olive oil in a small saucepan and cook over the lowest flame possible, low and slow, for about 2 hours, stirring periodically until the garlic is a dark golden brown.
When the garlic is done, add the tomatoes along with all of their juice to another large pot. Bring the tomatoes to a boil then add the garlic confit to the pot, including the oil.
Add the mushroom stock to the tomato-garlic mixture, one gallon at first, and blend with a stick blender. You are looking for a smooth consistency. Add more stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Turn down the heat to the lowest flame and cook for about 2 hours, stirring the sauce periodically. Check for flavor and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.
Heat up a big pot of water, add ½ teaspoon of salt and a touch of olive oil, and bring it to a boil. Cook the spaghetti just until it’s al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain and divide the spaghetti between all the bowls. Toss immediately with the sauce-about a cup of sauce for each bowl of spaghetti. Garnish with the basil and Parmesan Reggiano.

********

My own notes:
1) Poaching garlic: poach on the lowest--LOWEST--possible flame/burner setting. The cloves should look like they aren't even cooking; only a bubble or two should be bubbling up from the pan. Cook for like 1.5 hours. If you cook correctly, the garlic will mash like butter, and you can store it in a jar in the fridge for about a week or two...I do this alot and when hungry open the jar and mash a clove or two on good bread.
View attachment 117965

2) This sauce is delicious and you can't go wrong with using too much olive oil and garlic cloves. I dumped all of the above into three cans of organic tomatoes, added salt/pepper, mushroom stock, and simmered for about an hour. (that's only a 6 inch fry pan, not a 12 inch, by the way)

3) Slice the mushrooms before boiling...I mean why not maximize their surface area.

4) My opinion: Unlike what the recipe says above, cook the spaghetti less-than-al-dente and then finish off cooking the spaghetti in the slightly watery sauce in a separate fry pan so it soaks up more flavor as it finishes cooking and more water boils off the sauce (this is the key to making good linguine and clam sauce as well).

5) Use fresh basil. But you can use dried basil and cheaper parmesean (versus fresh basil and parm), but if you do, add these last, not while cooking but rather as a topping and/or as the final step when cooking spaghetti/sauce before plating. Don't be shy with dried basil, as it is subtle, but treat the fresh stuff with more respect and apportion reasonably.

6) This spaghetti is a slow-burn so to speak. It's not gonna hit your mouth with a WOW, the way a sugary pastry does, but it will taste good at first bite, and with every subsequent bite it gets better. It's more like alcohol than crack--you don't realize you're addicted until your 25th bite and you're already going back for seconds after leaving your wife and kids and waking up in a ditch with indigestion. It's something about the depth of the mushroom stock with the delicate "roundness" of the poached garlic olive oil that keeps you hooked.
Click to expand...

I have a free day today so I think I'll try this, if for no other reason than to excuse myself into the kitchen for a few hours.
 
mezzrow said:
It's about infusing every part of it with flavor and extracting as much good out of the shrimp as it has to give.

Mezzrow's Shrimp and Grits

First, get some fresh shrimp. If you don't want to work hard, spend your money and get big ones. Work harder and get smaller ones if you're like me. Either way, it's good. You'll see measurements by proportion where it matters below, especially concerning the grits, but much of this is kind of freeform.

Peel your shrimp, save the shells, cover the shrimp with ice and put back in fridge while you put the shells in a pot with an onion (peel and all) sliced in half, a carrot chopped in chunks, celery if you have some, Zatarain's shrimp boil if you have some of that OR if you don't put in a bay leaf, black peppercorns, some Old Bay, a pinch of dried chile flake, a couple whole garlic cloves. Don't adjust the stock for salt until you strain it all out at the end. Cover with water, bring to boil, turn down, let it go about 30 minutes, strain it out and set aside - store what you don't need. Go brine the shrimp while this cooks down if you want this to be as good as it can, but don't forget to drain them and recover with water and more ice after 30 minutes.

Now you have shrimp stock. We can get somewhere now.

The Grits.

Next get some decent grits. You don't have to go get the artisanal stuff that you cook for a day, but that's really good if you are that OCD. I don't do that. The cheapest white quick grits on the shelf won't do either. My choice is a good yellow corn (not hominy) based stone ground product from anywhere between Arkansas and Carolina. This is what I'm using right now, and it's good.

Grits are 1 part dry to 4 parts wet + fat and seasoning. That's basically it. This is based on 1 cup of liquid to 1/4 cup of grits, and you can scale from there.
Over medium low heat, add 1/4 cup of milk and 3/4 cup of shrimp stock to the pot and stir in 1/4 cup of grits, salt to taste, and a tablespoon of butter. Stir it with a whisk until it starts to come to a boil. When it starts to tighten up, throw in a chunk of cream cheese about as big as your thumb. Switch to a wooden spoon, and keep stirring like you're making risotto. You want to convert the hard grits into a creamy wonderful thing, and you won't get that if you don't stir. When the desired consistency is about a minute away, stop. Go cook your shrimp now. You'll bring this back with some heat and some more liquid when you're ready to serve.

The Shrimp

Put together a spice mix of equal parts adobo, granulated garlic, Badia Sazon Tropical, fresh ground pepper and salt. Of course you'll adjust this to what you like, but I like this. Drain the shrimp. DRY THE SHRIMP. You don't want steamed shrimp. Season the shrimp liberally, and add some olive oil. Set aside for a few minutes while you get about a cup of shrimp stock for the gravy. Yes, this has gravy.

To a pan on medium high heat, add your oiled and seasoned shrimp one at a time until the pan is loosely full. Turn them carefully when seared on each side until just done, with a slightly crunchy layer of spice encasing a tender heart. After you have finished the shrimp, you will find a layer of fond in the pan that you will now deglaze with that cup of shrimp stock. Cook it down, add some cream or cold butter to tighten it up.

Put some grits and some shrimp on a plate. You know what to do with gravy. If you don't, wire Sam Allardyce for his top tips.

Todas a la mesa y comer!!
Click to expand...
@mezzrow Your recipe sounds absolutely delicious, thanks so much for sharing it. Your shrimp stock is going to take my grits to another level of deliciousness. I have to admit I usually purchase my shrimp already peeled and deveined to avoid the extra trouble but from now on I'm going hooked on the shrimp stock. I'm going to give your recipe a try next time that I make shrimp and grits, which will probably be soon since it is one of my hubby's favorite brunch meals.

My recipe is a good one too. I will share it soon. I just have to make the effort to do all the typing :)
 
verreauxi said:
Made Roi Choi's spaghetti again for the second time.

www.lamag.com

How to Make Roy Choi's $4 Spaghetti

It’s a baller recipe on a budget
www.lamag.com www.lamag.com

$4 Spaghetti (Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients
Sauce
¼ pound button mushrooms, whole
¾ cup garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of whole peeled
Tomatoes
Salt and pepper

The Rest (amounts up to you . . . )
Spaghetti
Fresh basil, torn
Parmesan Reggiano

Instructions
After a quick brushing off of any dirt, put the mushrooms in a large pot and cover them with about 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Strain the mushroom stock after about an hour and a half and reserve.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic and olive oil in a small saucepan and cook over the lowest flame possible, low and slow, for about 2 hours, stirring periodically until the garlic is a dark golden brown.
When the garlic is done, add the tomatoes along with all of their juice to another large pot. Bring the tomatoes to a boil then add the garlic confit to the pot, including the oil.
Add the mushroom stock to the tomato-garlic mixture, one gallon at first, and blend with a stick blender. You are looking for a smooth consistency. Add more stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Turn down the heat to the lowest flame and cook for about 2 hours, stirring the sauce periodically. Check for flavor and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.
Heat up a big pot of water, add ½ teaspoon of salt and a touch of olive oil, and bring it to a boil. Cook the spaghetti just until it’s al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain and divide the spaghetti between all the bowls. Toss immediately with the sauce-about a cup of sauce for each bowl of spaghetti. Garnish with the basil and Parmesan Reggiano.

********

My own notes:
1) Poaching garlic: poach on the lowest--LOWEST--possible flame/burner setting. The cloves should look like they aren't even cooking; only a bubble or two should be bubbling up from the pan. Cook for like 1.5 hours. If you cook correctly, the garlic will mash like butter, and you can store it in a jar in the fridge for about a week or two...I do this alot and when hungry open the jar and mash a clove or two on good bread.
View attachment 117965

2) This sauce is delicious and you can't go wrong with using too much olive oil and garlic cloves. I dumped all of the above into three cans of organic tomatoes, added salt/pepper, mushroom stock, and simmered for about an hour. (that's only a 6 inch fry pan, not a 12 inch, by the way)

3) Slice the mushrooms before boiling...I mean why not maximize their surface area.

4) My opinion: Unlike what the recipe says above, cook the spaghetti less-than-al-dente and then finish off cooking the spaghetti in the slightly watery sauce in a separate fry pan so it soaks up more flavor as it finishes cooking and more water boils off the sauce (this is the key to making good linguine and clam sauce as well).

5) Use fresh basil. But you can use dried basil and cheaper parmesean (versus fresh basil and parm), but if you do, add these last, not while cooking but rather as a topping and/or as the final step when cooking spaghetti/sauce before plating. Don't be shy with dried basil, as it is subtle, but treat the fresh stuff with more respect and apportion reasonably.

6) This spaghetti is a slow-burn so to speak. It's not gonna hit your mouth with a WOW, the way a sugary pastry does, but it will taste good at first bite, and with every subsequent bite it gets better. It's more like alcohol than crack--you don't realize you're addicted until your 25th bite and you're already going back for seconds after leaving your wife and kids and waking up in a ditch with indigestion. It's something about the depth of the mushroom stock with the delicate "roundness" of the poached garlic olive oil that keeps you hooked.
Click to expand...
Another yummy pasta recipe. Thanks for sharing it.

Hmmmm, I maybe I give it try if I can I have a doodle of you eating it ;)
 

verreauxi said:
Made Roi Choi's spaghetti again for the second time.

www.lamag.com

How to Make Roy Choi's $4 Spaghetti

It’s a baller recipe on a budget
www.lamag.com www.lamag.com

$4 Spaghetti (Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients
Sauce
¼ pound button mushrooms, whole
¾ cup garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of whole peeled
Tomatoes
Salt and pepper

The Rest (amounts up to you . . . )
Spaghetti
Fresh basil, torn
Parmesan Reggiano

Instructions
After a quick brushing off of any dirt, put the mushrooms in a large pot and cover them with about 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Strain the mushroom stock after about an hour and a half and reserve.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic and olive oil in a small saucepan and cook over the lowest flame possible, low and slow, for about 2 hours, stirring periodically until the garlic is a dark golden brown.
When the garlic is done, add the tomatoes along with all of their juice to another large pot. Bring the tomatoes to a boil then add the garlic confit to the pot, including the oil.
Add the mushroom stock to the tomato-garlic mixture, one gallon at first, and blend with a stick blender. You are looking for a smooth consistency. Add more stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Turn down the heat to the lowest flame and cook for about 2 hours, stirring the sauce periodically. Check for flavor and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.
Heat up a big pot of water, add ½ teaspoon of salt and a touch of olive oil, and bring it to a boil. Cook the spaghetti just until it’s al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain and divide the spaghetti between all the bowls. Toss immediately with the sauce-about a cup of sauce for each bowl of spaghetti. Garnish with the basil and Parmesan Reggiano.

********

My own notes:
1) Poaching garlic: poach on the lowest--LOWEST--possible flame/burner setting. The cloves should look like they aren't even cooking; only a bubble or two should be bubbling up from the pan. Cook for like 1.5 hours. If you cook correctly, the garlic will mash like butter, and you can store it in a jar in the fridge for about a week or two...I do this alot and when hungry open the jar and mash a clove or two on good bread.
View attachment 117965

2) This sauce is delicious and you can't go wrong with using too much olive oil and garlic cloves. I dumped all of the above into three cans of organic tomatoes, added salt/pepper, mushroom stock, and simmered for about an hour. (that's only a 6 inch fry pan, not a 12 inch, by the way)

3) Slice the mushrooms before boiling...I mean why not maximize their surface area.

4) My opinion: Unlike what the recipe says above, cook the spaghetti less-than-al-dente and then finish off cooking the spaghetti in the slightly watery sauce in a separate fry pan so it soaks up more flavor as it finishes cooking and more water boils off the sauce (this is the key to making good linguine and clam sauce as well).

5) Use fresh basil. But you can use dried basil and cheaper parmesean (versus fresh basil and parm), but if you do, add these last, not while cooking but rather as a topping and/or as the final step when cooking spaghetti/sauce before plating. Don't be shy with dried basil, as it is subtle, but treat the fresh stuff with more respect and apportion reasonably.

6) This spaghetti is a slow-burn so to speak. It's not gonna hit your mouth with a WOW, the way a sugary pastry does, but it will taste good at first bite, and with every subsequent bite it gets better. It's more like alcohol than crack--you don't realize you're addicted until your 25th bite and you're already going back for seconds after leaving your wife and kids and waking up in a ditch with indigestion. It's something about the depth of the mushroom stock with the delicate "roundness" of the poached garlic olive oil that keeps you hooked.
Click to expand...
Roy Choi is a fantastic cook. I love that dhow he did with Jon Favreau on netflix. Learnt some good techniques watching it.
 

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