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Raph's Kitchen take 2

Started by Raphaella, October 15, 2008, 01:07:09 AM

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Raphaella

 :lulz: I need to relearn how to internet!

Oh hi guys! Missed it here and I thought I would come back and bring with me foods! So here is the first installment of Raph's Kitchen. Please enjoy and any advice on how to improve my cooking is MOST WELCOME thanks!  :wink:

Coconut Shrimp:
So during my first excursion to Whole Foods (possibly my last) I bought this thing of coconut.  I thought, well I could use this up no problem... fucking wrong.  Anyway here is the latest in my effort to use up all this coconut.  I bought some frozen shrimp, it was not too expensive at about $7.00 a bag. This was the cheapest but it was also the only raw and organic kind they had. Which is nice, but it means peeling and pulling shit veins out of those little fuckers.  I also had a Spaghetti squash that needed to be used as it was hanging around my counter for nearly two weeks. 




First I set my squash baking at about 350 to 400. I had never made Spaghetti squash before and I figured it would be the same as cooking butternut.  While that was going I set up my dipping station with egg wash, flour mixed with a Cajon seasoning and my coconut then set about cleaning my shrimps.
Once I pulled the legs and poop veins from those guys I filled my cast iron pan with canola oil and let it heat up while I battered mah shrimp. Now if anyone can recommend a better way to batter things I would be very grateful because this was messy and time consuming.  First I dipped them in the egg, then the flower then the egg again and finally rolled them in the coconut. Perhaps next time I will change up the dipping procedure and test the results, hindsight is 20/20 after all.




Well I fried them till they were golden brown, some got a little more brown than others but that's to be expected because I do not have a thermometer so I really don't know how hot the oil was. At some point the squash was done so I scooped it out and added some cinnamon and blue agave syrup. I think I over cooked this squash, or something because it did not look like Spaghetti at all more like rice. It tasted good and that's really what counts.


 
I popped some fresh green beans in to the oven with drizzle of sweet almond oil, a dash of sea salt and some crushed almonds as well. I plated it all up with yesterday's salad and made a dipping sauce for the shrimps too. All I had was coconut milk and some Thai peanut sauce so I mixed those together for instant yum.   
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

Raphaella

Orange Beef:
When making the coconut shrimp yesterday, I opened a can of coconut milk, and now I needed to use more of it. I also had a bunch of Oranges hanging around in my fridge as well as some small steaks I grabbed on sale. Now just looking at all those oranges pisses me off and I'll digress here to tell you why.

See for some reason I feel compelled to buy produce grown here in America, preferably grown in Florida if at all possible.  In the grocery store I spied these wonderful looking oranges and I really wanted to get about four or five of them.  I had three in my bag when I noticed a sticker on one of them, it said product of Tanzania. So here I am in FLORIDA about to buy oranges from Africa. So I put those fuckers back and grabbed a bag of oranges from California instead.  So now I have about 9 more oranges than I really wanted.  (This is just an idiosyncrasy; I'll buy produce from Vietnam if I am in a Viet market.)   
Now back to the cooking. So first I cranked the heat on my cast iron and set my steak so searing. Then I started some rice I have a good formula for that its two cups water to one cup rice. When the steaks were still very rare on the inside I took em off the heat, had a moment for a deep breath and boldly started the orange sauce.

I cut an orange in half and juiced it, I grated some zest off the sides too, added some honey and a squirt from a tube of garlic paste the Mr. bought. I whisked it all together and added the leftover Thai Peanut / Coconut sauce from yesterday plus a bit more coconut milk. I got heavy handed and used too much coconut milk and I thought well I'll just cook it down.


So I began the process of trying to thicken this slop. It worked out well I suppose. I added some ground ginger, a bit more honey and just a tad more Thai peanut sauce to the mix. Then I grabbed my beef, sliced it all up and added it to the sauce so let it cook all the way. (The Mr. doesn't like rare beef.)  While that was simmering on low, I sautéed up some red bell pepper, onion, and baby Bella mushrooms.  When the rice was done I added the veg., some rice wine vinegar, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and fresh cilantro.
 


This meal was OK but not great. The sauce was good, but the blood from the meat turned it dark brown.  The steak was just the way the Mr. likes it, well done and chewy. The rice however, was FANTASTIC.

The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

Jenne

Yay!  Glad you moved it here--and it looks fabu, the final product, I mean.  Very colorful and very well turned out.  BOTH dishes!  I'll be trying this beef one soon--we has lotso stew meats that would do well with this.

Raphaella

Thanks Jenne! Stew meats would work well with the orange beef, but you may want to make up your own sauce. Mine was not so good. That's just the way I roll. I have really taken to heart the Badger Method of "Just Fucking Wing It". Sometimes it's great, but sometimes it's crap as well. Live and learn! Also I MUST use what I have already so I just make it up as I go along.

Sometime soon I want to try some LMNO recipes! His shit looks GOOD!
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

Raphaella

Stuffed Chicken:
I flattened the chicken with a small cast iron pan.  Then I got tired of that and just slit them open.  It's less loud that way.  I layered the chicken with crushed garlic, cilantro, feta, spinach, and then tomatoes. Then I rolled those fuckers up and closed them with toothpicks and stuck them in the oven at about 350 for a while.  Also baked some sweet potatoes!  I used my left over spinach, some lightly blanched green beans, crushed almonds, and tomatoes to make a warmish salad. For the dressing I used sweet almond oil, basil, dill, white vinegar and some garlic. I added some cinnamon and a little drizzle of honey to the sweet potato, shit was good.







The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Iason Ouabache

You cannot fathom the immensity of the fuck i do not give.
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LMNO

Nice job with the chicken.  The filling has all most of the flavors I love.

Raphaella

I really appreciate the comments guys!  :) I have been trying to cook more healthy meals as well as not blow my bank!
LMNO, what other flavors would you recommend for next time?
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

East Coast Hustle

Quote from: Raphaella VonMercer on October 15, 2008, 01:13:11 AM
1) Then I grabbed my beef, sliced it all up and added it to the sauce so let it cook all the way. (The Mr. doesn't like rare beef.) 

2) The steak was just the way the Mr. likes it, well done and chewy. The rice however, was FANTASTIC.


this disgusts us. you should find a new spouse.
Rabid Colostomy Hole Jammer of the Coming Apocalypse™

The Devil is in the details; God is in the nuance.


Some yahoo yelled at me, saying 'GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH', and I thought, "I'm feeling generous today.  Why not BOTH?"

Raphaella

 :lulz: NO BUT I LUVS HIM!! Seriously though I usually just make separate meats. Rare for me and well done for him.
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

LMNO

Quote from: Raphaella VonMercer on October 16, 2008, 01:09:25 PM
I really appreciate the comments guys!  :) I have been trying to cook more healthy meals as well as not blow my bank!
LMNO, what other flavors would you recommend for next time?

Whole basil leaves & mozzerella cheese

Sage

charred poblano peppers

bacon (obligatory)

mint, whole grain mustard and gruyere



Not all at the same time, of course.

East Coast Hustle

raisins, feta, pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes makes an excellent stuffing for either chicken or fish done in a pinwheel or roulade style.
Rabid Colostomy Hole Jammer of the Coming Apocalypse™

The Devil is in the details; God is in the nuance.


Some yahoo yelled at me, saying 'GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH', and I thought, "I'm feeling generous today.  Why not BOTH?"

Raphaella

Thanks Guys! I'll try these fillings sometime soon they sound wonderful. Raisins? I never would have thought to use them in this way. I'll have to start thinking about foods in a more creative light, cause I love raisins.
I have some more pics ready but I am far too tired to fuck with photobucket right now. I'm going to the springs tomorrow with some friends from work and I have to get up real early.
I'll post em tomorrow though.
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible OZ

Jasper

Quote from: East Coast Hustle on October 16, 2008, 01:16:20 PM
Quote from: Raphaella VonMercer on October 15, 2008, 01:13:11 AM
1) Then I grabbed my beef, sliced it all up and added it to the sauce so let it cook all the way. (The Mr. doesn't like rare beef.) 

2) The steak was just the way the Mr. likes it, well done and chewy. The rice however, was FANTASTIC.


this disgusts us. you should find a new spouse.

QFT, in case anybody thought ECH was claiming a silent majority.