Foodies BS Thread.

^^This, I don't like crab cakes because most restaurants put way too much filler in it. My wife always order them but I don't see the need to order crab-flavored-bread-substitude with so many other good stuff on a menu.
Real crab cakes actually made with crab is another story; keep the ingredients to a minimum and enjoy.

 

Im out in the field desk diving at a client site, but when i get home ill search up the picture and recipe post i did for this dish.

It so awesome i wish i could take credit for it, but its mostly my wifes dish

 

(NOTE: this is a quick copy paste from a couple months ago, so please bear with me...I *think* I got all the links updated)


I personally think that the crock pot is one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated tools in the modern american kitchen. Especially when my commute was an hour each way! It was such a blessing to walk in the door after a long day and an even longer commute and get gobsmacked by an entire house that smells like a sumptuous meal already waiting for you.

With that, we dive right in! One of my favorite recipes to make and eat.

INGREDIENTS

Pretty simple and straightforward, as the name would suggest:



-Three to five bell peppers, of various sizes/varieties/colors/flavors
-Two or three medium onions, also of various sizes/varieties/colors/flavors
-2 pounds of your favorite italian sausage
-Two cans (14.5 oz each please) of diced or petite cut tomatoes, UN-DRAINED
-Rice (or other starch/pasta/whatever) to serve over
-Salt to taste
-Fresh black pepper to taste

(Other seasonings to taste: garlic, italian, etc)

METHOD

Break down and cut peppers and onions into rough strips. Not so small as a julienne, but not giant hunks like a 'rough chop'. Someplace in the middle...You want to be able to handle several with a standard spoon. I quarter the onions then slice into .25 rings for this.





Now, start with an empty crock:



Toss in a handful of peppers, a handful of onions, rinse/repeat, until you have about half of them in the pot. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over them, then lay your raw sausage out in a single layer, if you can, across. I can get two 1-pound packages from the store in here at once this way.



Scatter the remaining onions and peppers across the top, fairly evenly. Sprinkle another teaspoon of salt over the whole mess.




*NOTE

There's a lot of room for improvisation and individual taste tweaking in this dish. I've had it where the sausage was grilled and browned prior to crocking. I've had mushrooms and carrots added. I've had different spices of every kind added. Once you get your head around how simple this whole thing really is, you can really have fun with the flavors. The basics, though, are what I'm putting in.

The Mrs and the yout have wildly different tastes than I, so we play around with a LOT of different kinds of spices and flavors at our house. This is just whats right over the range-top for instant always access:



This time its fairly simple: Black pepper (about a dozen grinds), and italian seasoning, with some garlic tossed on for good measure.



Now, take your UN-DRAINED diced or petite cut tomatoes (yes, you can use 'special' or 'flavored' ones too, as shown here with low salt and basil, or just plain...don't matter) and dump them over the top of the pile, spreading around with the lids or a spoon to get nice even coverage:



Yes, you can use fresh tomatoes and broth/stock for this part, if you wanted. At...what, $1.79 a can that you probably already have in the pantry...I usually use the canned.



Slap on the lid, set for a long time at a low heat, and...whatever. Go to work, go to sleep, go play Call of Brother's Mass Effect: War Zone 5 Dark Ops, or whatever FPS is hot this week. Just go away for at least 5 hours.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much, much later

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Now, my kin prefer this over rice, and while that's fantastic, there's a couple things I do to liven it up a bit more. First, don't just use 'Minute Rice' or some other blanched, boil-bag junk that tastes like paper. WHY BOTHER?

We settled on Jasmine long grain rice, available in the local Walblixmartixie. It gets a bit heavy if you eat too much, but you'll learn this the first time you try it, so it's a handy built-in portion control.

Also, another tip: Don't use WATER to make your rice. Do something else:



Water doesn't bring ANY flavor to the dish. Why use it? (Yea, I prefer home-made stock too. But there's nothin' wrong with store-bought if that's what ya got handy!) Also, add a sprinkle of salt and...say...



Try it this way. I promise you'll never want just white boring rice made with water ever again.

Anyhow, while that cooks (20 minutes), about halfway through, turn your attention back to the crock pot!

I pull the power and yank the ceramic sleeve out to let it start cooling. Believe me, there's PLENTY of residual heat in that mass to keep the food plenty hot to eat for the next 30 minutes easy, even uncovered.



No, it ain't much to look at. Who cares? Slap some of that nummy rice down into a shallow bowl, dunk some sausages down on it, grab some peppers/tomatoes/onions, and slather some juice over the top of the whole mess.



If this doesn't stick to your ribs...you might not have any. Plus, if there's a dish with more room for tweaking the flavor all over the map than this one, without changing the basic, fill-you-up-but-GOOD qualities of the basic meal itself, then I have yet to see it.

Not a long ingredient list, fairly simple to make, and you can start in the morning and have it waiting for you when you get home from work.

Enjoy

 

Thank you sir! That sounds awsome!!!! Have you tried eating them as sandwiches?? like on a hogie roll? Just wondering cause that would probly be the first way i try it.

 

I have to eat it in a big honkin' bowl like you see here 'cause its generally too wet for a sandwich type deployment the way I make it.

But hey, don't let me stop ya...have at it!

 

think ill try this recipe this week! looks amazing!

 

I may have to make it this week and see how things work out! mayb throw the sausage in my new cast iron and sear it just to help break the pan in!

 

Never really order online, but I was enjoying these for about a year and now they don't carry them anywhere nearby.

 

IDK? Red lips and fingers and that shit didn't come off!

 

Planters has a sea salt and pepper one

 

I tried the Planter's. OK at best. These are freaking delicious!

 

I thought the planters was freaking loaded with pepper... to the point i could not eat them.

 

I always brown my meat either in a cast iron skillet or on the grill for a little bit before throwing it in the crock pot. It just add a little more flavor. Crock pot is convenient, but it tends to be a little bland.
My current clock pot has an aliminum insert, instead of the typical ceramic, so you can use that on the stove to brown the meat and then insert the whole thing in the crock without having to remove the meat, and still have all those juicy goodness in the bottom to cook through the whole meal.

 

I love my crock pot, we make pulld pork, mexican chicken, and a bunch of other stuff.

 

I often do too. I'll sear the pork tenderloin, like so...


before it goes in



To cook up nicely

 

^^

 

I haven't personally, and for one reason: As part of taking up cooking as a past-time, I've taken a strong belief that local, in season is almost always better for you and better tasting.

We spend about a third to a half of our food budget in any given time frame on locally grown, locally sold by local merchants, fresh food. Especially all the fruits and veggies, but also proteins ... buying from actual local farmers and butchers that are supplied by locals.

Farmers markets and buying direct from literal farmers' barns gives you amazing food if you can manage it. In a lot of urban areas, it isn't readily available. Thankfully, one of the few upsides to living where I do is 'fresh' imports from overseas at the ports AND halfway decent farms that grow almost anything you can imagine all year 'round.

 

Anybody cooking/grilling Flank Steak?

Flank steak marinaded KC Masterpiece Caribbean Jerk.

 

Looks good! I've been known to grill up a few myself.

 

Check out Clyde's restaurant crabcake recipe. I worked there years ago and even though it's 4 hours away and don't get there much,every time I go I order them. They are the best. I like to broil or bake them, don't like the fried as much. Let me know if you try to make them.


http://www.grouprecipes.com/14008/clydes-crab-cakes-courtesy-of-the-tombs.html