Gravy's Cooking Thread

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Szeth

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That stuff's tough to find. I've had in a few times but that's always been at a restaurant. The other thing is ramps. I think it's supposed to be a natural or wild garlic green and they grow in a very specific season I think during the spring, but they're supposed to be delicious. I've never been able to find them, but would love to incorporate them into my cooking. I think they're supposed to be kind of garlicky and bitter but I don't know because I've never gotten a chance to try them.

We just buy the wild arugula because it's cheap and I like that bitter peppery flavor the balance out richer things.
We foraged ramps for a few years, and it works well. Last year we actually replanted about half of what we foraged and now we have a patch in the back yard loaded with ramps.
 
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Dr.Retarded

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We foraged ramps for a few years, and it works well. Last year we actually replanted about half of what we foraged and now we have a patch in the back yard loaded with ramps.
Man that's awesome. I know they grow in certain States or regions but I don't think they grow here in Texas. Apparently you can just go and harvest as much as you want when they're growing them if you can find the patches.

When do you normally harvest it?

When I was living in Charleston at one point it wasn't ramps but it was actually a wild garlic that was growing on John's Island right down the road from my dad's house. When it was I guess blooming, anytime you drove by that area it smelled like prime rib roast. We used to go out and pick the garlic, and it's probably the best garlic I've ever had in my life. Unfortunately, they dropped a water line through that stretch of road, and it basically destroyed all of it. It never grew again or at least not in the original abundance.
 

Szeth

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We harvest in the spring, usually after a few warm days but before it gets consistently warm. The harvest window is really short.
 
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Fogel

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That stuff's tough to find. I've had in a few times but that's always been at a restaurant. The other thing is ramps. I think it's supposed to be a natural or wild garlic green and they grow in a very specific season I think during the spring, but they're supposed to be delicious. I've never been able to find them, but would love to incorporate them into my cooking. I think they're supposed to be kind of garlicky and bitter but I don't know because I've never gotten a chance to try them.

We just buy the wild arugula because it's cheap and I like that bitter peppery flavor the balance out richer things.

I guess I took it for granted living in the North East. I would try to find an Italian specialty store, they're the ones most likely to have it
 
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Lanx

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Made surf and turf pasta last night for a late Valentine's. Grilled shrimp, scallops, lobster, with pappardelle and Alfredo sauce. Kind of became a tradition to do a seafood pasta of some sort since I met the wife. First meal I ever cooked for, and it's sort of evolved over the years based upon what ingredients were available. Decided to add the steak this year because I had a couple of small fillets floating around in the freezer. Pasta was a little more al dente then I prefer but we both enjoyed it. I know my plating skills kind of suck, something I'm trying to work on. Hey as long as it tastes good.

View attachment 459718
i thought i had horrible plating, if it's a competition, you win dawg
 
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Dr.Retarded

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I guess I took it for granted living in the North East. I would try to find an Italian specialty store, they're the ones most likely to have it
Yeah that's probably a no-go here in Houston. I checked some Asian markets because sometimes they'll have different produce that you typically can't find at a place like HEB or Trader Joe's. Maybe they sell it at whole foods but I won't step into that shit hole just on sheer principle.
 

Dr.Retarded

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i thought i had horrible plating, if it's a competition, you win dawg
You're probably right. It's something I've been trying to work on. Hey at least if you eat at my house the food will be good and you'll get plenty of it. I think it really just comes down to by the time I get done cooking a big meal, I'm just ready to eat and don't care about trying to make everything look as good as possible.
 

Lanx

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anyone used this?
cb2e8a3fcbbd697ad6a3672f45c5fe84.png


i've been testing this out in the "crispness" drawer since it's enclosed, the short scientific tldr is that food rots b/c of exposure to ethylene gas and many veggies put out ethylene gas themselves

so far it seems to be working after a month, a head of romaine i left in there seems just fine. (of course other veggies are in there, i'm just seeing how long this romaine lasts w/o getting nasty)
 
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Lanx

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Actually I've looked at getting a hibachi and the appropriate coal to do what is it teppanyaki? It's that Japanese grilled chicken on skewers. If you do pick one up I'd appreciate a report.

Edit: yakitori is what I meant. Saw a pretty cool video not too long ago of a famous Japanese restaurant there with butchering an entire chicken and cooking all the organ meats, forever you skewer was supposed to be a different part of the chicken with different textures and flavors. Thought it might be something really fun to do. I'll hunt around for it. It was a pretty good watch, and really shows what you can do with just a simple whole chicken.
yea i'm gonna test this one soon, it has good reviews and has air vents (the square holes) to control flames
09be8c654e09f2a827db439f2a853331.png

gonna goto home depot and see if i can find 1in square metal rods, like rebar but square, anyone know what i might be talking about?
 
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Dr.Retarded

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yea i'm gonna test this one soon, it has good reviews and has air vents (the square holes) to control flames
09be8c654e09f2a827db439f2a853331.png

gonna goto home depot and see if i can find 1in square metal rods, like rebar but square, anyone know what i might be talking about?
Tube steel if you can find it in that dimension. What exactly are you wanting the rebar type rods for?
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
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yea think i found a nice 1/2 at lowes i'll pick up
4fec23defb441c64dc88fadecc2d2098.png

Hot rolled steel is the right choice. If I were doing what you're doing I would likely take the steel home, sand or grind it down until it gleams, clean it, and use some food safe, high temperature paint. Something like this:

Amazon product ASIN B0010O0C94
Bare steel over heat with cooking grease tends to age quickly and badly.
 
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BrutulTM

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yea i'm gonna test this one soon, it has good reviews and has air vents (the square holes) to control flames
09be8c654e09f2a827db439f2a853331.png

gonna goto home depot and see if i can find 1in square metal rods, like rebar but square, anyone know what i might be talking about?
Don't go to home depot. If they do have anything it will be ridiculously overpriced. Go to a real metal shop/welding supply place. They will have what you want and it won't be that expensive. You do need to clean it well because it will be coated with oil to keep it from rusting. After you get that shit off is going to rust immediately.
 
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Lanx

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i'll just buy stainless steel skewer racks
14092c27f8b2814e423109b46e77e881.png


i mean the yakitori grill i got is only good for 3 skewers anyway
 
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