GimmeAnother1 Food Thread

[GimmeAnother1]

mini lemon chiffon cakes

mini lemon chiffon cakes


ingredients: eggs (yolks/white seperated), cream of tartar, sugar, cake flour, baking powder, salt, veg oil, lemon juice and zest. glaze: sugar, lemon juice


lessons learned: 1. this is the whip whites to peaks and fold in type of recipe. i prefer baking powder as i am still working on knowing exactly when peaks are properly stiff and not over or under whipped smile. 2. lot of folding batter and piping so getting experience there. i know use a tall cup to put piping bag in before trying to fill. works better for me that way. 3. first time i cooled cakes upside down in tins. interesting concept.


results/taste: we tried with and without glaze and actually preferred without glaze. was not impressed with the way mine came out. never had before so not sure what to compare it to but not inclined to make again. probably something i did.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

canoas de platanos maduros

canoas de platanos maduros (platano canoes)


ingredients: picadillo (ground beef mix PR style), platanos maduros, mozz cheese, monterey jack cheese, bruschetta sauce


lessons learned: 1. i like to cut over the V shape before frying platanos so it fries all sides. i then take extra cut out, fry that, mush with fork and layer on top to reuse. 2. pre cook beef (i used picadillo i had left over from Pastelon), fry cut platanos, fill beef into canoes, layer mush leftover platano and cheese on top, bake in over until cheese melted.



results/taste: well received. i think i should have added cilantro other than sofrito. or maybe mint or something. bruschetta sauce was a hit also although i didn't make that from scratch.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Greek white bean soup Fasolada

Greek white bean soup Fasolada


ingredients: white beans, salt, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, olive oil, tomato paste, rosemary, veg bouillon cube, apple, water.


lessons learned: 1. 2nd time i used an apple for pectin (1st was for strawberry jelly). 2. i added some water as it cooked since some evaporated. not sure if this watered it down a bit. i mean it is soup but thinking doing this watered it down a bit. 3. you have to wash and soak the beans in salt water the night before. 4. i chopped the veg. i believe some places puree them.


results/taste: same like as in a restaurant. came out pretty good. overall great bean/veg soup.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

crispy mongolian beef with coconut sticky rice

crispy mongolian beef with coconut sticky rice


ingredients: Sauce: hoison sauce (made from scratch since i didn't have), sweet soy, regular soy, white vinegar, water. Fried Beef: sliced ribeye (can use flank), salt, pepper, corn starch, veg oil, scallions (didn't have green onions so substituted), ginger, red chilis. Coconut rice: jasmine rice (closest i could find to glutinous), coconut milk, sugar, salt, coconut shavings, instant pot


lessons learned: 1. I am new to Asian dishes but am finding that many are a combo of soy, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar. the hoison added in peanut butter to the mix which was interesting change. 2. basically make sauce, bread sliced beef in corn starch, fry beef, put rest in pan and fry, add beef back in and mix. serve with rice. 3. rice i did in instantpot. came out decent. debated on mixing coconut/sugar in pot or after it comes out. did it right in pot instead of adding water. came out good.


results/taste: everyone liked it. one did not like the heat from the chili but other than that everything worked out really well for one of my 1st Asian dishes. instantpot is great for rice.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars


ingredients: oats, raspberries, light brown sugar, regular sugar, corn starch, salt, ap flour, vanilla extract, baking soda, cinnamon, butter, lemon zest


lessons learned: 1. get the raspberries room temp so they mush. use microwave if frozen. 2. while my base oats came out solid my top was a little loose. next time i will pack the top oats down harder. not a biggie. still came out fine.


result/taste: came out great. 1 person said it was a little too sweet for them. everyone else liked them better than prepacked bars. probably because the are fresh and not dried out.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Kaiser Rolls

Kaiser Rolls


ingredients: bread flour, yeast, water, salt, egg wash, poppy seeds, sesame seeds


lessons learned: 1. if bread doesn't rise the tend to turn out like bagel dough consistency. make sure yeast activates and rises. use sugar to feed yeast and put some flour in on top of activated water and then the salt to create a barrier. salt kills yeast. then rest of flour on top of salt. mix. 2. 2nd rise is important for sizing of individual rolls. 3. for shape, you can roll into a ball, fold long ways into shape kind of like doing a pretzel, or u can buy stamp and stamp them. see my pics for round ball and hand shaping. didn't have stamp to stamp mine. 4. i like egg wash for crispy/crunchy tops. also easier for seeds to grab onto with egg wash. 5. moist oven is key in baking dough. and/or use water tray - hand sprayer to moisten oven and dough balls when in the oven. 6. to keep fresh freeze. 7. love them hot and fresh although about 30min after taken out is when they are best overall.



results/taste: perfect for a roll consistency. people said mine were better than bagel shop/restaurants. this batch came out spot on. loved the crunchy top to them also.

 

[Cheryl J]

Thank you for taking the time to share your recipes and beautiful pics, gimme!

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Thank you for taking the time to share your recipes and beautiful pics, gimme!

Thanks Cheryl! Loving the culinary journey
Still less than a year baking/cooking so don’t consider myself a chef yet but I’m on my way!
Lots still left to learn. So many different areas to choose from in culinary.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Homemade Sausage & Nduja

Homemade Sausage & Nduja


ingredients: pork shoulder, sausage casings, different fillings


lessons learned: 1. u need fat in for sausage so do not discard the fatback. you need 30% fat. 2. any pork wrapped from a store is already salted/liquid so take that into account when salting and weighing. 3. for casings make sure you grease the spout before trying to slip on. 4. get a foot pedal to connect to your machine so u can control the rate of flow. they sell foot pedals that you can plug your machine into and then plug into the outlet. this way you don't have to splice wires. 5. nduja 50% fat at least. pass the meat through a 2nd time until it comes out like mush. use the right chilis and grind them. 6. use a coffee or spice grinder to grind up spices. 7. don't let a lot of air get into casing as you fill. fill it tight with meat. otherwise it will spoil quickly. 8. prick holes in casings when done. 9. either smoke or seal in back and freeze to cook as needed. you can also cure at this point if you want to take it further.



results/taste: awesome. such a great experience! so much to learn in sausage making/curing/meats. a whole other world. loving it!

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Popovers with Strawberry Buttercream frosting

Popovers with Strawberry Buttercream frosting (in a muffin tin)



ingredients: eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, salt, oil. frosting - strawberry jam, butter


lessons learned: 1. do not open the oven to check on them. just let them go the full time and pull them out. otherwise it deflates. 2. frosting - just whip the butter until creamed and mix in strawberry jam. 3. pretty straightforward mix of ingredients.


results/taste: croissant like base with buttercream and strawberry jam mix on top. whats not to like! these things are so awesome especially straight out of the oven. the strawberry buttercream is a must to try imo if you make popovers. i know they are used to sop up sauces in many cases but sweeten it and have like a dessert they are great too!

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars


ingredients: ap flour, baking soda, corn starch, salt, butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, semi-sweet choc chips


lessons learned: 1. try to get the sugar to melt into the liquids as best as possible. put a warm bowl under yours to help the melting/combining process. 2. use whisk until you get to cookie batter stage then switch to spatula to fold the rest in. 3. use baking sheets or parchment paper under otherwise it will stick and it gets are to hard to get out.


results/taste: chocolate chip cookie in brownie form. what's not to like. so good with a glass of milk. yummy!

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting


ingredients: ap flower, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, butter, milk, strawberry jam or preservatives, sour cream, vanilla extract, egg whites, lemon zest. frosting - butter (creamed), strawberry jam or preservatives, powdered sugar


lessons learned: 1. when using a lot of powdered sugar on a stand mixer use a towel over the top to keep down the powder spray as you incorporate the sugar. 2. not learned but question - while i liked the caramelized tops i think i may have cooked a little to much as some of the cupcakes separated from tops as i pulled the wrapper off. not a major thing but still. the based muffin part was soft and fluffy though. cooked perfectly for the base. and like i said i like the tops a little browned but not sure if that created the issue on a couple of the cupcakes. 3. piping is not my forte yet so i will keep at it. need to learn the tips/sizes/shapes/etc. more so i know which to use for what occasion. 4. taste as you go on the buttercream frosting so sugar level is to your liking. 5. use a large apple corer to take out middle of muffin so u can fill the frosting in there also.



results/taste: excellent. microwaving the jam and straining into mix is the perfect way to incorporate strawberries. tastes so natural in the mix as opposed to some flavoring like extract. i find that while the buttercream frosting hardens a little over time the sugar is also more incorporated over time. the muffin part stays fresh long periods of time with no preservatives. loving learning this part about food. i think preservatives are over rated (except for kosher/sea salt).

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Hot Cherry Peppers Stuffed With Sharp Provolone Cheese & Prosciutto Dipped Olive Oil

Hot Cherry Peppers Stuffed With Sharp Provolone Cheese & Prosciutto While Dipped In Olive Oil


ingredients: hot cherry peppers, sharp provolone cheese, prosciutto, olive oil


lessons learned: 1. when handling hot spices use gloves. 2. peppers are pretty flexible but if you can try to cut the cheese to comparable sizes or smaller to stuff without breaking. 3. wrap the prosciutto around the cheese before inserting otherwise you will be stuck trying to stuff it from the top which is not ideal.


results/taste: pretty good. would do again. the combination definitely goes well together. i might swap out hot for medium or mild spicy peppers. next day is a killer if you eat a lot of hot ones smile.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Sembali Revani Cake

Sembali - Revani Cake


ingredients: sugar, milk, semolina flour, baking soda, (nuts-almonds/peanuts). simple syrup (to drizzle)-sugar/water


lessons learned: 1. i had fine semolina flour and still feels like cornmeal to me more than regular flour. mixes more like cornmeal too imo.


results/taste: deep caramel type of taste with sugar drizzle. great with coffee imo.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Mozzarella From Scratch

Mozzarella From Scratch


ingredients: whole milk (pasteurized all i could get), citric acid, rennet, water, kosher salt


lessons learned: 1. mix the citric acid and rennet first and have them ready for when they go into the process. 2. need a thermometer on this one for temp throughout. 3. see below question/note in results/taste.


results/taste: when i watched the video i used, by the time i am straining the curd in the video it was stretchy. mine was still cottage cheese consistency. mine didn't really come together until the last stretching when you soak it in salted whey at certain temp. after that it pulled together and became stretchy and sleek. that being said my results/taste to me was bland and plasticy. i have the base down. it did work for me and i got a mozz as result but maybe i need to let it soak more in the salted whey to get some flavor. it was pretty flavorless compared to what i am used to. it is like the major store bought pre packaged stuff or the shredded cheese in flavor. now that i have the base down though i can read up online and experiment until i get the flavor i want. maybe at some point also i will put in a hint of something in the mix like coconut or something. we'll see. joy is in the journey right!

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Strawberry Banana Muffins


ingredients: unsalted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, ripe bananas, strawberry jam, ap flour, lb sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt


lessons learned: 1. i did not have strawberries so tried microwaving S jam and stirring it in. it probably would have worked however i don't think i put enough in so it was more like banana muffin in taste (actually like brown sugar/cinnamon/banana muffin). next time use strawberries or more jam. 2. batter is thick. i used an ice cream scooper to measure out and fill the batter in the tins.


results/taste: overall they came out great for banana muffins. for strawberry banana i need to get more strawberry in next time. i also made cupcake size and mini cupcake size. i prefer the cupcake size. mini didn't have enough breading for my taste to really enjoy it. bite sized not recommended for me.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Berry (Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry) Crumb Cake

Berry (Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry) Crumb Cake


ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, vanillla, ap flour, baking powder, salt, milk, berries. topping - sugar, ap flour, cinnamon, butter.


lessons learned: 1. i used mix of frozen and unfrozen berries. the frozen i defrosted in microwave which gave a lot of juice. i added the juice in. you can see it in the dough of 1st pic as it is almost purple in color. not sure the affect but i have an issue i will show below. not sure if contributed. 2. my batter was still very wet after 45 @ 350degrees. not sure if the crumb on top was preventing the cooking or the juice from berries kept it too liquidy or what. i wound up cooking it about 1:15 at 350 and even then i would poke through the top and pull out mush. it dried up fine. very light and fluffy. not a lesson learned here but curious if it's supposed to be like this for a crumb cake.


results/taste: the taste was excellent. best crumb cake i've ever had. my issue is the texture. it fell apart in my hands as i held or cut a piece. the dough was extremely soft under the hard and heavy topping of the crumb and while the taste was so good holding it together was a sloppy job. i need to work on this recipe a little and tweak. has great promise though. never had a berry crumb cake like this before. great combo with milk or coffee.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake


ingredients: strawberries, sugar, ap flour, baking powder, salt, egg, heavy cream, milk, shortening, vanilla extract


lessons learned: 1. i originally tried to do a recipe with eggs whites whipped except i couldn't get mine to whip. even tried cream of tartar no luck. tried both hand mixer and kitchenaid to no avail. sugar, salt, etc. no help. so 2 relatives came over and we wound up working on this all 3 of us. 2. whipped cream topping don't over whip or you'll make butter (yes we made butter on accident lol. had to whip another batch).


results/taste: very good! came out tasting just right. would recommend.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Rice


ingredients: chicken breast cut into pieces, corn starch, veg oil, soy sauce, baking soda, avocado oil, ginger, carrots, sweet peas, red onion, yellow onion, shallots, eggs, salt, pepper, white jasmine rice (cooked separately in instantpot and then add to wok for frying with soy sauces 'light/sweet and regular soy)


lessons learned: 1. instantpot cooks rice well and easy. set and forget. 1:1 ratio cup of rice to cup of water. good to go. 2. chicken pieces next time i will cut up smaller. i chunked them and feel like i should get them to down to almost shredded or think strip consistency. too bulky as chunks imo although still great to eat. 3. the corn starch/soy sauce/veg oil/baking soda marinade combo on the chicken creates a shiny coating on the chicken which is a bit disconcerting when initially looking at it. had to use thermometer to poke pieces and make sure they were cooked to 165 degrees. taste is great for this type of meal though as the coating/marinade. 4. asian or wok dishes tend to be cooked in batches. eggs cook/chop up and put aside in bowl, chicken cook and set aside in another bowl, veg cook and set aside, cook rice and add soy sauces, finally add everything back in and mix. method works well just takes some time.


results/taste: came out really good. next day was still moist not dry/crunchy. like i said above will do a better job on chicken slicing next time. also i went light on the soy sauces when cooking and just brought it out as condiment for whoever wanted it heavy. method worked out well.

 

[GotGarlic]

I love a good stir-fry. If you have any oyster sauce, try adding a half teaspoon of that to the sauce mixture and reduce the soy sauce a little. I used to keep adding soy sauce to give it more flavor, but once I discovered oyster sauce, I started adding that. It's an umami bomb that tastes more savory and less salty to me than soy sauce. I also add a half teaspoon of chili-garlic sauce. And instead of veg oil in the sauce, I use a half teaspoon of toasted sesame oil.