leehunbeltipo's Profile
Where to find John Morrell links (16/pkg)?
These links are terrilble!
I'm from the Iowa town where these are produced and they stunk up the whole town!
I just saw them at Safeway in Diamond Heights though, if this is any help!
Indian food in/near Cedar Rapids, IA
Taste of India on Boyson Road in Hiawatha..
Coming from the Amanas, just come into town, and get on 380 going north, and Boyson road will be the last exit you see before leaving the city entirely. You take that exit and take a right and you'll see a big shopping plaza and Taste of India is in it...
Just google it to get the best directions, the place is a hit here in town
COLD TUNA PASTA SALAD
oddly enough, tonite on good eats, it was a tuna episode, and alton made a classic tuna sauce at the end of the episode.
i've had it in italy and made it at home, and its a sure fire good dish.
2 egg yolks
6 oz tuna packed in olive oil, drained, with oil reserved
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 to 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, drained and minced
just put in food processor and then chill. it should be the consistancy of hummus.
a good recipe ive used before, is use spaghetti and make zuchini noodles(julienned).
just toss with those two and some chopped black olives and roma tomatoes.
serve cold
pre prepping risotto
you can do the restaurant cheating method and just cook aborio to al dente, save some of the cooking water, and then finish it later when you want to.
or you can cook it regularly, but then add broth when ready to serve to cream it per se
How do you do Tri Tip?
tritip is great. buy it unfabricated straight from your butcher and trim it yourself, get one with a thick layer of fat.
anyway, after cleane, i just s&p it, sear it rare, and finish cooking it in a pan of clarified butter. so its a good medrare.
tri tip is serious good eats, ive seen pieces so marbled it looked like kobe or waygu
I have a tube of polenta ... now what?
cut it into thing rectangles (aka fries!) , toss in flour, and fry in your deep fryer!
dip in a good aioli
your friends will go mad
Olive Oil Confusion
canola oil is the universal oil with a decent smoking point. its cheap and everywhere, which makes it ideal for sautee'ng. if you want to add flavor and nice browning, add a dollop of butter.
don't bother sauteeing in extra virgin olive oil. even the cheap stuff, you risk adding bitterness to the food your satueeing if the oil gets to hot.
and like said before, if you love that butter flavor, use clarified to sautee.
oh and never sautee at high heat.... sweating=low, sauteeing=medium, stirfrying=high, searing=almost smoking
Why Did My Sauce Break?
Before you deglaze, pour off all the fat. If you browned the chicken properly, there should be brown bits, or 'fond', at the bottom of the pan. Thats where the flavor is coming from. After the wine has deglazed and reduced with the shallots a little, remove from heat and whisk in room temp cream.
Just make sure you get rid of that oil, this isn't an emulsified sauce by any means, or even a beurre blanc, just a pan sauce finished with cream.
What can I do with a jar of saffron?
if you want a handdown delicious and ridiculously easy saffron dish.
for one serving, scrap together about
5 mussels
3 shrimp
piece of whitefish such as mahi or grouper
2 large scallops
heat allclad pan with oil, sear scallops and shrimp. deglaze with white wine, add some chopped garlic, toss fish and mussels in the pan.
pour in a 8 ounce can of tomato juice, a pinch of saffron.
cover pan for about 5 minutes.
take out all the seafood, keep warm,
mounte au beurre the sauce,
serve over sauce over angel hair, and arrange seafood around it.
serve with fresh lemon wedges if ya like
oh and try buying your saffron from an italian importer... soooo much cheaper
Skillet temp for Crispy, not Blackened?
use a high smoke point oil such as grapeseed or peanut.
you're getting the blackening because the milk solids in the butter are burning.
if you are using extra virgin olive oil, it has a lower smoke point then reg. olive oil.
if you don't know where to get grapeseed or peanut oil, use canola, it has a higher smoke point then olive oil and a neutral flavor.
my suggestion:
using a high smoke point oil. heat up in a cast iron skillet. or all clad pan, and heat until you can barely see smoke coming from the oil.
whichever protein you are using, let sizzle in pan. dont worry, the protein will cool off the pan enough that it won't start blackening right away.
a good rule of thumb as well, is that the protein should be dry when you put it in the pan.
to get that good sear and crispy skin, dont leave the protein on heat for too long.
when you try and flip the protein, see if it has any give, if it doesnt, its not ready to flip.
generally when its ready to flip, it shouldn't be sticking any more.
once you've achieved this nice crispy sear, finish it in the oven.
also.
if youre going for a crispy duck/chicken breast or fish
cook in oven first til almost done. aka par cooking.
finish in hot pan flesh/skin side down. if the pan is hot enough, it should render out the fat in the skin, and leave it nice and crispy.
just dont use butter/olive oil at high temps.
sorry if i rambled, its 5 in the morning and im tired as hell haha.
Sioux City?
minervas is okay middle class american fare. for other midwesterners, its like a granite city.... in that food sensical way... its like a nicer applebees... but not really a "neighborhood" place..
bevs has a decent menu and actually has a "chef". but alas bad service. food is inconsistant.
if you want real good sioux city food (which is lacking)...
check out Milwaukee Weiner House, Jerry's Pizza, Botichellis, Fuji Bay, Tastee in and Out..... and maybe lucianos on 4th...
sioux city really needs some better restaurants tho
