You cooks! Any suggestions?

[Mike]

rondele is foul. boursin is where it's at.

[ScottyB]

rondele is foul. boursin is where it's at.

oh yeah? never heard of boursin, actually. but i love me all kinds of cheese so i'm gonna have to look for that in the high roller section.

[Mike]

it does cost a fair penny at your supermarket, but if you have a costco nearby it's dirty silly cheap.

[Evan]

now thats its nice out I picked up a grill and have been using it non stop.

current fave for the money is a london broil, labeled as london broil in the grocery store but I forget the exact cut of meat. Not a top end cut by any means so leave the food snob shit at the door, but if you prepare it right it is very tasty and pretty tender. Bonus is that its a very lean cut.

Marinate overnight in balsamic vinegar, a little oil and spices of your choosing in the fridge.
Dry it off and let it come up to room temp while preheating the grill as hot as it will go, rub some pepper and sea salt and coat with a little oil. (and dont forget to oil the grid)
Sear on each side for about 2-3 minutes, let it cool for 5 min then cut it against the grain. Cant cook this cut past medium (ideally should be rare to medium rare) without it going tough but cook it right and it will surpsise you.
Very tasty and cant be beat for $3/pound.

[ScottyB]

let it come up to room temp.

definitely something to keep track of. i am as guilty as the next guy of throwing a cold steak on the grill. it should be taken out of the fridge and let to warm up a bit.

also, sea salt > table salt, especially on steak.

[.RJ]

Marinate overnight in balsamic vinegar, a little oil and spices of your choosing in the fridge.

Try marinating in red wine, evoo, paprika, garlic powder and cumin.

Its a little different but definitely money. I only marinate with this for 1-2 hrs but I dont see why you couldnt go more.

[Maengelito]

leave the food snob shit at the door

uhhh, I think like 95% of this thread is food snob shit.

[Evan]

Marinate overnight in balsamic vinegar, a little oil and spices of your choosing in the fridge.

Try marinating in red wine, evoo, paprika, garlic powder and cumin.

Its a little different but definitely money. I only marinate with this for 1-2 hrs but I dont see why you couldnt go more.

yeah Ill give that a shot. The vinegar's purpose is to break up the connective tissue and tenderize the meat, which is pretty important for this cut of meat that isnt very tender. Is red wine acidic? If so it may have a similar effect.

Ive actually done 2-3 days in marinade which isnt advised but the meat was incredibly tender.

[Evan]

leave the food snob shit at the door

uhhh, I think like 95% of this thread is food snob shit.

yeah seriously.

part 2 of Evan's un-food snob series: cheap, fast, and easy (RJs mom taught me)
Pork chops. Just picked up 4 medium sized pork chops at Giant for $2.50 on sale (usually the high price of $4). you will usually eat 2-3.
Similar as above. Marinade overnight or during the day. Make up your own marinade or try the grocery store packets. Marinade doesnt really need any vinegar but a little balsamic adds some flavor. A little sugar in the marinade works well with pork chops too.
The best way Ive found to make pork chops is to sautee them, which is a stupid fancy french word for "pan frying"
Preheat your skillet, heat up some butter (can use oil too?) until its just turning brown. Pat dry your pork chops and when they are room temp and ready to go in crank up the heat. After that its just letting them sit in the pan for a 3? minutes a side. It does take practice because you can char the outside pretty easily since you are working with high heat. (but the char is just butter so it still tastes good even if you do)

[Apoc]

For pork chops, I usually marinade overnight in dijon mustard with crushed garlic cloves, salt and peppaR. When the chops are almost done frying (usually in a small amount of EVOO), dump the marinade in and reduce to a sauce.

[WRXtranceformed]

I try to avoid pork as much as I can after watching a video of a woman who got a worm removed from her brain from eating undercooked pork. I guess when you cook it yourself ideally you know that you've cooked it long enough, but I don't trust a lot of restaurants to do it right. Pork is a very dirty meat, there are tons of worms in it and I have heard that some of the eggs are not always killed even when the meat is cooked very well.

[Apoc]

I try to avoid pork as much as I can after watching a video of a woman who got a worm removed from her brain from eating undercooked pork. I guess when you cook it yourself ideally you know that you've cooked it long enough, but I don't trust a lot of restaurants to do it right. Pork is a very dirty meat, there are tons of worms in it and I have heard that some of the eggs are not always killed even when the meat is cooked very well.

OMGSZZZ t3h internets seyz it's baaaaaddd!@!

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/porkworm.asp">http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/porkworm.asp</a><!-- m -->

Modern hogs are far, far cleaner than they ever have been and the assertion they're all infested with worms and filthy is just plain stupid. Chickens are raised is much more disease ridden living conditions. There's a really solid episode of Good Eats that talks about modern pork but I can't find it on my 30 seconds of searching.

Personally, I cook my pork medium well because... well... it tastes good that way.

[WRXtranceformed]

Here is the original video:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6qm03g8c0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6qm03g8c0</a><!-- m -->

I read a few of those snopes articles or online "mythbuster" sites' views on pork, but I've also read a few scientific articles talking about the other risks of eating pork. Trichinosis is pretty much not a problem now because like you said, conditions that hogs are raised in are much better than they used to be. Diseases like toxoplasmosis and worms that were eating that woman's head though are still very reasonable concerns.

Blood tests in several studies show that non-clinical (no apparent signs or symptoms) infections of T.gondii occur in Canadian pigs. Infection rates are higher in sows than market hogs, indicating that the length of exposure is a factor in acquiring T.gondii infection.

A recent serological study conducted through the province's Sentinel Herds Project showed only 35 out of the 2,520 samples tested were positive, indicating that currently the prevalence of T. gondii in Ontario's pig population appears very low (1.5%). However, the same study also found a very high prevalence on a small number of farms; almost half of the pigs tested on two farms were positive.

Toxoplasmosis in swine is a food safety issue - as opposed to an animal health issue - because T. gondii generally does not make pigs ill. Most T. gondii infections in swine are sub-clinical (no signs of infection) although the disease can cause clinical signs in pigs of all ages, especially in nursing pigs. Laboured breathing is the most common clinical sign of toxoplasmosis. Other signs include fever, general weakness, diarrhea, nervous signs, abortion and rarely, loss of vision. In some severe cases infected pigs are born dead, sick or become sick within 3 weeks of birth.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/swine/facts/04-055.htm">http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/liv ... 04-055.htm</a><!-- m -->

What it comes down to is properly cooking the stuff just like any meat, but there are a ton of other risks you expose yourself to with pork that are nastier than food poisoning imo.

[ViPER1313]

I try to avoid pork as much as I can after watching a video of a woman who got a worm removed from her brain from eating undercooked pork. I guess when you cook it yourself ideally you know that you've cooked it long enough, but I don't trust a lot of restaurants to do it right. Pork is a very dirty meat, there are tons of worms in it and I have heard that some of the eggs are not always killed even when the meat is cooked very well.

<john_travolta>but bacon tastes good.....porkchops taste good....</john_travolta>

[WRXtranceformed]

I'm looking into hydroponics sets right now so that I can grow my own fruits and herbs indoors. I bought a bunch of fresh fruit at the grocery store the other day and think it's ridiculous how expensive it is. Spices too. I like the fact that you don't have to worry about bugs or using pesticides with hydroponic setups and how there are more nutrients in the plants you harvest.

There are some SUPER expensive complicated setups out there, but this one looks decent for what it is.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.aerogrow.com/">http://www.aerogrow.com/</a><!-- m -->

Relatively cheap and looks pretty easy to use. The only downside is that you have to use these preseeded pods. You can buy a master grower kit for like $40 that lets you plant your own seeds, but apparently some plants don't do well in it. I really just want to do herbs, blueberries and strawberries.

I'm also going to start researching how to build my own setup. I'm sure I could make a decent one for a lot cheaper, but I like the Aerogarden as far as a turnkey setup. Anyone had any experience with these?

So I bought this one today from a guy on CL for about half the price I would have paid online.



I'm pretty excited to get it up and running. It came with the herb pack but I really don't cook enough with fresh herbs to justify growing them. You can't grow them at the same time as vegetables / fruits because the machine regulates the amount of water & nutrients based on the plant type.

I'm going to look for a master grower's kit so I can throw some strawberries and blueberries in there. My mom seems to think the strawberries will do well but the blueberries wont. If they don't I'll grow some peppers or something, I <3 fresh jalapenos & habeneros!

[.paul]

i have basil, rosemary, mint, jalapenos, & cherry tomatoes in pots on my lil deck. last year was good, this year will be better cause im taking more care of them. :woot:

[John]

I try to avoid pork as much as I can after watching a video of a woman who got a worm removed from her brain from eating undercooked pork. I guess when you cook it yourself ideally you know that you've cooked it long enough, but I don't trust a lot of restaurants to do it right. Pork is a very dirty meat, there are tons of worms in it and I have heard that some of the eggs are not always killed even when the meat is cooked very well.

Good cuts of pork are perfectly safe to eat at MR if you so choose - it's a common myth that says you should always cook pork well done. As mentioned, pork is one of the cleanest meats out there - and much safer than most vegetables you get at the store.

There are a lot of types of meat that you have to cook through because of various types of bacteria and parasites - chicken, swordfish, shark, just to name a few.

[Apoc]

So I bought this one today from a guy on CL for about half the price I would have paid online.

So, this may seem like a dickish question (and it probably is), but why can't you just put them in a pot on your deck? There's free sun and rain out there.

[.RJ]

but why can't you just put them in a pot on your deck? There's free sun and rain out there.

Its free so it must not be good :dunno:

[.paul]

So I bought this one today from a guy on CL for about half the price I would have paid online.

So, this may seem like a dickish question (and it probably is), but why can't you just put them in a pot on your deck? There's free sun and rain out there.

only reason its not as easy, is currently with the fluctuation of weather, you SHOULD keep them inside until the weather kind of stabilizes and doesnt get bellow 60 over night.

BUT it probably is easier, as they dont have to go outside to water them and tend to them.