Foodies BS Thread.

Happy Turkey Day!

Since we're not doing a traditional turkey day meal, as the wife and kid are both working, here's what *I* had for my thanksgiving (lunch). BTW, sorry for the somewhat crappy pics...on a loaner phone will mine is getting fixed.

SCAMPI!



Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4-5 cloves garlic (to mince)
1 cup white wine
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tablespoons parsley
pasta



I like more bites of smaller pieces of shrimp, so I cut these up into two or three pieces, but many 'traditionalists' would rather leave them whole. Its up to you.



Get a big 'ol pot of water going. Don't put oil or any such shit in the water, it doesn't help. You can salt the water if you choose. I do. Most don't. I grab a big handful of angel hair or spaghetti (about an inch bundle) and break them in two as I drop them in the water to cook.

Second, get a large pan and melt a stick of butter in it. Please note I never said anything about healthy when describing this recipe. Do NOT go any higher than medium for this step! Garlic, especially fresh garlic, is very delicate and burns very, very easily. Burned gralic will DESTROY any dish, period.



Once it is melted, add in the shrimp and garlic. I always have fresh handy (we use it a lot) and just run them through the hand-press.



Cook this for about 4-5 minutes, stirring nearly constantly. You'll smell the garlic cooking a bit. If you used raw shrimp, cook them until those are fully cooked here. Pre-cooked frozen ones, like I have here, don't need the extra cook time.



Stir in the pepper and wine. NOTE: If you used tubed parsley, like I have here, you can add it now. If you have fresh parsley, we'll add it later. Crank up the heat to med-high. Bring to a boil.



If you are one of those 'wine people' types, cook it about 45 seconds. If you don't like as much of the wine flavor and want a more cheesy flavor, cook it about 2 minutes or so, stirring constantly.

Your pasta should be done. Get that drained.



Put yon pasta into a large mixing bow. Add the contents of your shrimp and sauce to the bowl, and if you're using fresh parsley, add it now. Dump your parmesan cheese on it.




Now, fold to combine, kinda slowly. Don't beat the hell out of it, but gently fold/kinda stir it for about a minute. The heat of the pasta and sauce melts the cheese and if you stir too hard, it'll get all stringly and kinda ickey.



Gently stir the big pile until it is well combined. Plate and serve immediately. Add in garlic bread and a simple salad and you've got a quick, easy, and tasty dinner.

 

... ^^^ ... great DIY thread (with pictures & directions )... especially for a "newbie to cooking cook" ...

For some reason ... I will try things from this thread ... where a normal cook book does not interest me.
.

 

That's still what I am, kinda. And that's why I add my stuff into this thread. There's a bunch of folks in here that are awesome in the kitchen, and I'm just adding my low-end help to balance it out!

What I dig about this one is how fast it is. Start to finish, less than 20 minutes total from start to eat.

EDITED to add in:

You stealth-edited on me! LOL

Its the feedback! In a cookbook, you're seeing the best possible, photoshopped perfect result. It looks like menu photos at the restaurant....your food never looks like that!

But in here, you're seeing it as folks *just like you* are making shit in their home kitchens, and the back and forth brings it to reality, rather than photoshop and perfection.

 

I like your style Pete, a little bit of everything. Then zone in on what you like and load up the 2nd plate. And repeat for 3rd and 4th....

 

Good job on charring up a crust on that steak, and charring the corn too!!!!

 

yeah, steaks were cooked HOT over charred wood chunks, came out mid rare
the charred part of the corn was where the husk wasn't covering it
sweet potato casserole my wife made was THE BOMB!
i had a fellow grad student over (he's japanese) and he ate a whole 1lb+ ribeye and 2 huge servings of sweet potato casserole. He said it was the best 'american' meal he's had since he's been here (5+ years)

 

Nice job on the wood fire!!!! I like the char on the corn though but that is just me maybe. It makes the corn "flesh" sweeter.

 

Dare I ask what happened to the plate full of stuffing? I hope that it was an accident........

 

^^Yikes, good to hear no domestics. I bet that would have been funny to see you wearing the gloves and power lifting the bird out of the oven.

 

I've had bacon-wrapped dates and they were SO good- sweet, salty, fatty, crispy, chewy. I've never made them though. The prosciutto and melon seems even easier, just wrap and eat and repeat. Repeat... annnnd repeat again. lol

The shrimp and pasta looks so good! I like your post, very helpful and thorough. I don't eat much seafood even though I know it's good for you (before the cheese, butter, and wine at least).

Love all the Thanksgiving pictures! YUM. Inspires me to go buy stuff to make a mini Thanksgiving, since I didn't bring any leftovers home.

 

Breakfast this morning. Pan fried rosemary potatoes, eggs with pan seared ham and spicy-sweet bacon

 

Went to the Yard House last night. This is in the Palisades Center Mall. i guess this is a chain now that came from California originally, I tried to read the foreword, but we had the kids and the menu was awe inspiring. There is over 160 beers on tap and over 150 items on the menu. I was impressed because all of the food on the menu had thought behind it, not just the standard bs menu filler.....

 

I had Rogue Chipotle Ale and Long Coast Alley Cat Amber..... both were very good. I had a surf and turf burger, should have taken a picture. It was a burger medium rare, with butter braised spicy lobster, roasted asparagus,with baby spinach and spicy chipotle mayo.........absolutely amazing!!!!

 

^^ Yep Yardhouse = yummy...Headquarters are in Irvine, CA.

 

Breakfast looks great Tough! ^^^

 

Got up early for a dog walk to the Farmer's Market, and decided to cook this AM so I have healthy lunches to bring to work.

Roasted a chicken with herbs & butter:


Roasting veggies (red peppers, carrots, onion, garlic) in a little olive oil and spices:



Gonna stick these pretty squashes in next with some curry powder.



Got plenty of arugula too! Hoping to avoid gaining that seasonal "fluff."