Food Pr0n!

[Wizzard419]

Ok the rare mid week update!

Tried a dirty martini using the 10 minute method, found I am not a fan of the dirty martini. They are crazy popular here apparently.

I actually really hate olives in my martini except for the variety pictured (some sweet green) because they always taste too harsh against the gin.



A Strawberry Shag since it's so warm out (it uses basil instead of mint which gives it a really nice flavor).



A Panzanella Salad



A Croque Monsieur (I made it again because I still had some gruyerre left from last week and wanted to use it up.)



And as I got the last crop out of my tomatoes before I got rid of the plants for next season, a roast tomato caprese salad.

[Amy]

Yum, yum, and more yum!
I'm almost afraid to ask you Wizzard, but what, makes a martini "dirty"? I'm guessing the olives would be the tastiest part of the martini ~ I'm not a gin fan
Here is my lonely food entry for today...a small brekkie casserole I made last week. Eggs, sausage and cheese. Not haute cuisine but pretty tasty

[Wizzard419]

Looks good, is there any starch in there (potato or biscuit) like I've seen in the past?

To make a dirty martini you take the normal martini (or a vodka one) and add a little bit of the brine the olives were in to it. A normal martini with olives is good (if they are a variety I like) but when it was dirty it was just wasn't appealing to me. Since I am really picky about the contents of the martini, I always just go for a lemon twist if I am going to have them at a club or resturant (which is also why most of mine show lemon).

If you don't like gin there is always vodka!

[NaCler]

Nice job Amy... Give Wiz a run for his money!

Actually, I'm just now getting caught up on this thread... An amazing job Wiz... I don't think you have posted anything that I wouldn't at least try. Especially since you don't seem to work with coconut. I did notice you use pork in many of your dishes. Is this your favorite meat to cook with? Also, what is your favorite meal to prepare and can we see it?

[Wizzard419]

I do work with coconut, it's just nothing really recent comes to mind for it's use. I normally only use fresh rather than the pre-sweetened stuff.

I most commonly cook with beef but it's usually stuff that's been seen before (such as steaks).

Not sure what my favorite meal to prepare is though.

[Amy]

Looks good, is there any starch in there (potato or biscuit) like I've seen in the past?
To make a dirty martini you take the normal martini (or a vodka one) and add a little bit of the brine the olives were in to it. A normal martini with olives is good (if they are a variety I like) but when it was dirty it was just wasn't appealing to me. Since I am really picky about the contents of the martini, I always just go for a lemon twist if I am going to have them at a club or resturant (which is also why most of mine show lemon).
If you don't like gin there is always vodka!

Thanks! There is a piece of torn-up bread in the casserole too.
Not a fan of vodka either Rum is about the only liquor I like, but it needs to be in something, like rum balls to be really tasty

Nice job Amy... Give Wiz a run for his money!
Actually, I'm just now getting caught up on this thread... An amazing job Wiz... I don't think you have posted anything that I wouldn't at least try. Especially since you don't seem to work with coconut. I did notice you use pork in many of your dishes. Is this your favorite meat to cook with? Also, what is your favorite meal to prepare and can we see it?

Excellent question NaCler ~ I would be interested in seeing his favorite meal prepared and plated too

[Wizzard419]

I'm not really sure what the favorite is since there are a lot of things I really like, but most of them don't have much prep from me.

My top ones that I would never refuse would probably be osetra (the american stuff is good but the imported has a much cleaner flavor in my experience) caviar with buckwheat bellinis and creme fraiche, Belon oysters on the half shell (It use to be hard to get them out here but they have started raising them in California and they taste as good as in the northeast) with chilled shots of grey goose. The only one that has any real effort from me is white truffle risotto, which is kind of a pain because I have to plan that in advance and I am limited by seasonality. There is also roasted bone marrow on toasts with home made tomato jam.

[Amy]

I'm not really sure what the favorite is since there are a lot of things I really like, but most of them don't have much prep from me.

My top ones that I would never refuse would probably be osetra (the american stuff is good but the imported has a much cleaner flavor in my experience) caviar with buckwheat bellinis and creme fraiche, Belon oysters on the half shell (It use to be hard to get them out here but they have started raising them in California and they taste as good as in the northeast) with chilled shots of grey goose. The only one that has any real effort from me is white truffle risotto, which is kind of a pain because I have to plan that in advance and I am limited by seasonality. There is also roasted bone marrow on toasts with home made tomato jam.

Ummm, ick?! You certainly have a refined palate Where the heck do you even buy bone marrow?!?!
I'm guessing the white truffle risotto wouldn't photograph well anyhow, too many shades of white?
I guess we will have to content ourselves with whatever you share!

[Wizzard419]

You get the bones at the butcher, they are the shank bones I think it sounds gross but actually tastes really good.

The risotto probably would, I just haven't ordered a truffle in a while.

[Amy]

You get the bones at the butcher, they are the shank bones I think it sounds gross but actually tastes really good.

The risotto probably would, I just haven't ordered a truffle in a while.

Do the different truffle colors taste differently? Are the different colors different prices? Can you cheat and use truffle oil?

[Wizzard419]

Yes, white truffles have a stronger flavor/scent than black ones, there is debate over Italian vs French. In winter I like Italian whites, I've tried black ones from France and they are great but they don't have the same punch I want. I don't touch them in summer because they are all off peak.

The prices vary since they are fresh produce but whites are almost always more expensive than black truffles. I've not tried the american ones (far more reasonable) because I can't find them anywhere.

You can use truffle oil or the preserved jarred ones for the flavor, esp. when something is going to be cooked for a long period of time. A dirty trick that resturants use when they sell truffled fries, poato, etc. is that they will just use the oil rather than the real thing but act like they are using all real truffle.

[Amy]

Yes, white truffles have a stronger flavor/scent than black ones, there is debate over Italian vs French. In winter I like Italian whites, I've tried black ones from France and they are great but they don't have the same punch I want. I don't touch them in summer because they are all off peak.

The prices vary since they are fresh produce but whites are almost always more expensive than black truffles. I've not tried the american ones (far more reasonable) because I can't find them anywhere.

You can use truffle oil or the preserved jarred ones for the flavor, esp. when something is going to be cooked for a long period of time. A dirty trick that resturants use when they sell truffled fries, poato, etc. is that they will just use the oil rather than the real thing but act like they are using all real truffle.

Truffle oil is expensive too right? Maybe the restaurants feel justified in using the oil and passing it off for the real thing...

[Wizzard419]

It's like $7 a bottle here (white or black) last time I checked, and preserved ones are like $10 at whole foods

[Wizzard419]

I should add, that with caviar and truffles, the domestic versions usually cost about 25% of the full price, or less than imports and they are a great way to see if you like the foods/special occasions without having to put out a fortune.

[Amy]

Here is a coffee jello my friend made tonight. Topped with heavy whipped cream and shaved truffle ~ the chocolate kind
The people that actually like coffee raved about the dessert, evidently if you like coffee, they were tasty. I just ate the whipped cream
Sorry for the poor photo, I borrowed my friend's iphone to snap a quick picture after everyone was saying how tasty they were!