[durangotang]

For health reasons, I have been doing a lot of cooking lately. I love it - the benefits are many and I can't wait to add a little tail to the mix. This thread is motivational.

Dude, just ordered a nice VG-10 Japanese knife, hopefully should sharpen just like my VG-10 Fallkniven survival & pocket knifes. Thanks for the tip.

Hattori HD-7:

[Chad Daring]

A good knife is the best investment you can make. Get a good whetstone so you can keep the edge on it yourself, avoid grinding wheels as a REALLY good knife will be made of metal that is to hard and will actually erode the wheel rather then the wheel eroding the knife.

[YoungGunner]

do you guys think putting on music while cooking is a good way to set the mood or does it too distracting? In other words, does it kind of break her focus on your cooking skill (and her lack thereof) or does it relax her to your moves? I'm thinking of matching the nationality of food to the type of music I play, or just playing lounge music the whole time.

[durangotang]

I would think the main idea is to have fun with it. I like the idea of not working on a new dish or something too complicated, otherwise you may get a bit stressed out trying to time everything right and the mood is ruined. Didn't the dude say that he has almost everything ready by about the time she arrives - seems like a good idea to me. Matching the music to the type of cuisine also sounds good, if it suits your mood for the night.

[Chad Daring]

(02-14-2012 12:19 AM)YoungGunner Wrote:  

do you guys think putting on music while cooking is a good way to set the mood or does it too distracting? In other words, does it kind of break her focus on your cooking skill (and her lack thereof) or does it relax her to your moves? I'm thinking of matching the nationality of food to the type of music I play, or just playing lounge music the whole time.

Just play calm music. If the music is distracting its inherently not calm, unless she happens to have some weird she-boner for Brian Eno.

I dont tend to put on music in general just because why bother? Now if you're trying to bag a new girl with dinner then maybe, the music is a nice touch, but I only cook for girls who I've banged, or I know I'm gonna bang no matter what.

[WesternCancer]

Culinary game is the #1 thing I do with girls, cheap easy and she'll be at your place. She'll get wet by knife skills alone. Once you're good enough, chop as fast as possible using proper technique and talk to her looking awayfrom the knife and making piercing eye contact. She'll think you're some kind of daredevil when in actuality you're just cutting shit properly.

You've probably heard of this recipe before but its next level and I've put my own twist on it Bacon carbonara your fat ass probably loves bacon and your fat ass girl would probably suck dick for the number of weight watchers cheat points allowed to eat this.

Ingredients
Spaghetti (I'd go for "smart" pasta, texture of white but fiber of whole wheat, enough for 2-3 people you're going to want to eat this again)
Bacon (real, generic bacon, for 2 people I used 6 slices) you could also use pancetta or basically any other kind of smoked/cured pork. make sure its fatty.
Garlic (4 cloves)
Thyme (a few sprigs of it, not too much, fresh is preferable)
Butter (1-2Tbsp, depending on how much of a fatass you want to be)
Cheese (parmesan - none of that fake shit, real stuff that you have to grate id say a big pile probably a good 1/2 cup, same amount of another cheese, I prefer Jarlsberg which is similar to swiss cheese but it will be exotic to her, again 1/2 cup)
Brussels sprouts (I used 8 or so, basically enough for just over a cup of brussel sprouts, cut them into thin slices)
4 Egg yolk (if you don't know how to separate yolks youtube it, just dont fuck it up too bad a bit of white is fine.
Heavy cream (just a tablespoon or two to thin out the egg yolks)

Methods
1. Boil the pasta in heavily salted water, start cooking the bacon in a big frying pan. Once its crispy (not burned) take it out, put it aside, chop it up and for the love of god don't eat any of it you fat fuck or you'll just have to cook more, make sure your girl doesn't eat any either. Drain most of the fat.

2. Add the butter to the small amount of bacon fat already there, mince your garlic and chuck that in, throw in your thyme (if its dried just roll the sprigs around in your hand over the pan). Chop up the brussels sporuts and throw those in the pan too. Cook it but don't burn the garlic or may you burn in hell. Salt and pepper heavily, you're going to be adding tons of pasta which will "dilute" the salt.

3. In a bowl put the egg yolks, cream and jarlsberg (grated). Mix and add salt and pepper.

4. Once the pasta is done (al dente, youre not 11 anymore) drain it briefly before you throw it into your pan of lightly browned garlic and sprouts (It'll have a good nutty flavour that goes with the cheese).

5. Mix it around and take it off the heat. Stir the egg mixture one more time before you dump it in the pasta. Mix it up thoroughly and serve immediately, top with the parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper.

This would probably go well with wine, maybe some toasted walnuts or pecans too. Try it out.

[Veloce]

Gonna bump this for a couple new points/recipes:

The importance of bacon
Bacon is the shit. Girls love bacon, but that's not why you get it, you get it because it's fucking delicious and conveniently fits into any high protein/saturated fat, low carb diet. Two brands I highly recommend if you can find them:
Hobbs bacon. http://www.goldengatemeatcompany.com/y_p...hobbs.html
This is the bacon used in many high end fine dining restaurants like the French Laundry and so forth. It's pretty damn good, but for my money I prefer...
Nueske's bacon
http://www.nueskes.com/shop-by-departmen...bacon.aspx
Profoundly smoky and fucking delicious. I buy whole slabs, unsliced, and then cut it by hand into thick slabs and sear it in a cast iron and cook eggs in the bacon fat.

You'll never want to go back to Farmer John's again.

I recently made this for some foodie Vietnamese chick. I bent her over and fucked her shortly after:
Seared foie gras with sherry-citrus marmalade and baby russian kale.
Alright so in all honesty, this is much more elaborate than need be but I happened to have this stuff on hand. If any of you want to jump up your culinary game by a couple notches, give it a shot.

Ingredients:
Duck foie gras
Mixed farmer's market citrus (meyer lemons, kumquats, tangerines, bullet limes)
Sugar
Vanilla bean
Espelette powder
Baby russian kale (or arugula, frissee, any spicy baby greens)
Lustao sherry vinegar
good quality olive oil
sea salt
freshly cracked pepper

If you don't know what something is just google it.

To make the marmalade: you can do this with any fruit. Apples, pears, quince, citrus, berries. For citrus, wash all the fruit, and slice very thinly while discarding the seeds. Keep the skin and pith on. When you have a decent amount that you want to work with, weigh it, and combine it with an equal amount of sugar by weight. Mix well, and let it sit at room temperature overnight. The next day, strain off the liquid that the fruit gives off into a pot, and bring that liquid up to a boil. Pour the boiling syrup back over the fruit and let sit another day at room temp. Repeat this once more. The 3rd time, put all the fruit and syrup into a pot and bring to a simmer with a split vanilla bean and cook until the mixture comes up to 225 degree Fahrenheit. Cool the mixture down and reserve in plastic or glass jars as needed. This shit is great on toast or mixed into yogurt.

Take your foie gras and separate the lobes. Slice 4 pieces off the larger lobe, in even 1 inch slices. Season them lightly with sea salt and the espelette pepper. Set aside.

Mix 2 Tablespoons of your citrus marmalade with a tablespoon of Lustao sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, dress your greens with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Heat up a sautee pan until very hot, do not add any fat. Lay your foie gras slices in and lower the heat to medium high. Sear on one side for 1 minute, basting the top side with the fat that renders out, and then flip the foie and cook on the second side for another 30 seconds. Remove the foie and drain on paper towels

Lay the foie down on a plate, spoon some of the marmalade on top and around, and then top with a few placed baby kale greens. Serve with toasted brioche if you want. It's extremely rich and fattening, but it's a small portion and this is food that gets girls moaning.

If you guys want any other hoity toity recipes that fine dining restaurants make lemme know...

[JohnnyAppleSeeds]

Nothing to add but a big THANK YOU, I will be incorporating this into my arsenal.

[Veloce]

Bumping this thread to hook up the recipe for granola we use at the restaurant. I didn't create this recipe but it comes from a very high end fine dining restaurant where a buddy of mine works, so I stole it =D

It's not the healthiest thing to eat if you're on a low carb diet, but it's an awesome snack and if you make it correctly, is probably the best granola you've ever eaten. I eat it with plain greek yogurt on cardio days.

Sour Cherry Granola
2 3⁄4 cups instant rolled oats (You can use Quaker but I highly recommend McCann's)
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips (or shredded coconut)
1/3 cup pumpkinseeds
1 tablespoon salt
1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3⁄4 cup dried sour cherries.

1. Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pistachios, coconut, pumpkinseeds and salt.
2. In a small saucepan set over low heat, warm the sugar, syrup and olive oil until the sugar has just dissolved, then remove from heat. Fold liquids into the mixture of oats, making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.
3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread granola over it. Bake until dry and lightly golden, 40-45 minutes, stirring granola every 10 minutes.
4. Remove granola from oven, and mix into it the dried sour cherries. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container. Makes about 6 cups.

[Farmageddon]

I've been going to culinary school in my spare time (after my real job) for the past couple of years and will graduate with a degree in the culinary arts next May. The way I learned to cook initially was through watching YouTube videos.

In particular, Foodwishes.com, which is run by Chef John Mitzewich, is an amazing resource. I can honestly say I've learned more by watching his videos (there are like 500 of them) than I have at culinary school.

This is the most requested dish I make of his, it's a version of a popular recipe from a Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco called The Slanted Door. And it's Mick Jagger's favorite dish too, so it has an interesting story.

I guarantee even if you've never cooked before you can make this dish:

[SpiderKing]

Is there an expiration date for marmalade?
Any sanitary practices required?

I'm trying this with a small batch of strawberry marmalade.
Thanks in advance.

(05-11-2012 08:49 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

To make the marmalade: you can do this with any fruit. Apples, pears, quince, citrus, berries. For citrus, wash all the fruit, and slice very thinly while discarding the seeds. Keep the skin and pith on. When you have a decent amount that you want to work with, weigh it, and combine it with an equal amount of sugar by weight. Mix well, and let it sit at room temperature overnight. The next day, strain off the liquid that the fruit gives off into a pot, and bring that liquid up to a boil. Pour the boiling syrup back over the fruit and let sit another day at room temp. Repeat this once more. The 3rd time, put all the fruit and syrup into a pot and bring to a simmer with a split vanilla bean and cook until the mixture comes up to 225 degree Fahrenheit. Cool the mixture down and reserve in plastic or glass jars as needed. This shit is great on toast or mixed into yogurt.

[Veloce]

I actually changed my ratios and recipe.
This is based on bakers percentages.

Fruit 100%
Sugar 60%
Pectin 1.5% (I think)

So if you have 10 lbs of fruit, you'd use 6 lbs of Sugar and 2.4 ounces of pectin. Combine everything the night before and store in a plastic container. The next day, bring everything to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 215 degree Fahrenheit.

To sanitize a jar, boil it and the lid for 10 minutes. Using latex gloves, put the hot strawberry jam into the jar and seal tight, and boil the jar for another 5 minutes. This will pressurize it. In this state, it will last quite a while in a cool, dry spot. I'd say upwards of 2-3 years.

[Veloce]

I actually changed my recipe for fruit jams/marmelades. Try this:

Fruit 100%
Sugar 60%
Pectin 1.5%

That's a baker's percentage. I realize most people read that and think, "Um, that adds up to 161.5% wtf??" Baker's percentages are recipes where the supporting ingredients are multiplied against your base ingredient, in this case fruit. So assuming you start out with 5 lbs fruit, you'd multiply that by .60 and get 3 pounds. Multiply 5 lbs by 1.5 and you get 1.2 ounces. Put the fruit, sugar, and pectin in a plastic container, mix well, and let stand overnight. This will draw out the liquid. The next day, put everything, fruit juices and all, into a nonreactive stainless pot and bring to a simmer, stirring regularly, and once the mixture hits 215 (Water boils at 212, once you get past that point you're boiling excess water out of the jam and creating a very mild, light caramel. Helps preservation) degrees fahrenheit on a thermometer, you're set. Sanitize glass jars by boiling them and their lids for 10 minutes. Add the hot strawberry jam to the sanitized jars, seal tightly, and boil again for another 5 min. Let them sit at room temp until cool. Like this they'll last 2-3 years in a cool dark spot. I'd suggest flavoring the jam with a strip of orange zest.

[Veloce]

Was just bangin out a batch of butternut squash soup at work and figured I'd share some soup-making data.

I'm not a huge soup person, but a nice chilled soup in the summer or a hearty soup in the winter hits the spot sometimes. Bitches love butternut squash. This isn't in line with any low carb nonsense: root vegetables are essentially starches and sugar, but it's delicious and will get the poon wet if you make it correctly.

For 2 people, 1 large butternut or 2 acorn or 2 kuri squash is plenty. Cut them in half (for kuri or acorn you'll need a sharp knife, be careful the outside is fucking HARD, i've seen people slip and fuck themselves up) and lay the squash, cut side up, on a sheet tray.

Make an infused butter: Take a half pound of butter, add 5 whole allspice, 3 whole cloves, 2 whole star anise, the zest of a whole lemon, and simmer the butter just until it's all melted. Remove the seeds from the squash cavity and fill the squash cavity with this melted butter. Roast at 350 for about 90 minutes. The squash should have little to no resistance when pierced with a knife, and should have some light browning on it.

Scoop out the meat (and butter) of the squash, being sure to pick out the whole spices, and puree with a blender with enough hot water to form a smooth puree (really let the blender go here. Also youtube how to puree hot soups so you don't get hot soup flying everywhere). I've used veg stock and chicken stock and water is actually best; it retains the natural flavor of the squash. Season the soup well with salt and strain.

To serve the soup, ladle into a bowl and garnish with some mixed sauteed mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, hon shimeji, maitake) that have been sauteed with a sprig of thyme and a smashed garlic clove. Season with salt and a few drops of sherry vinegar. Spoon the shrooms in the center of the bowl and garnish the soup with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Pretty much all this shite is available at Whole Foods. Great way to start a meal or serve a larger portion for a main course.

[ORLY]

Yo man I had the best red velvet cake yesterday. I'm wondering how you would adapt the recipe to make rv donuts...think they could be better than those blueberry donuts

(10-23-2012 10:42 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

Was just bangin out a batch of butternut squash soup at work and figured I'd share some soup-making data.

I'm not a huge soup person, but a nice chilled soup in the summer or a hearty soup in the winter hits the spot sometimes. Bitches love butternut squash. This isn't in line with any low carb nonsense: root vegetables are essentially starches and sugar, but it's delicious and will get the poon wet if you make it correctly.

For 2 people, 1 large butternut or 2 acorn or 2 kuri squash is plenty. Cut them in half (for kuri or acorn you'll need a sharp knife, be careful the outside is fucking HARD, i've seen people slip and fuck themselves up) and lay the squash, cut side up, on a sheet tray.

Make an infused butter: Take a half pound of butter, add 5 whole allspice, 3 whole cloves, 2 whole star anise, the zest of a whole lemon, and simmer the butter just until it's all melted. Remove the seeds from the squash cavity and fill the squash cavity with this melted butter. Roast at 350 for about 90 minutes. The squash should have little to no resistance when pierced with a knife, and should have some light browning on it.

Scoop out the meat (and butter) of the squash, being sure to pick out the whole spices, and puree with a blender with enough hot water to form a smooth puree (really let the blender go here. Also youtube how to puree hot soups so you don't get hot soup flying everywhere). I've used veg stock and chicken stock and water is actually best; it retains the natural flavor of the squash. Season the soup well with salt and strain.

To serve the soup, ladle into a bowl and garnish with some mixed sauteed mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, hon shimeji, maitake) that have been sauteed with a sprig of thyme and a smashed garlic clove. Season with salt and a few drops of sherry vinegar. Spoon the shrooms in the center of the bowl and garnish the soup with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Pretty much all this shite is available at Whole Foods. Great way to start a meal or serve a larger portion for a main course.

[Aliblahba]

Dude3737, have you ever thought about making a culinary blog for the manosphere? I think it could be a profitable niche.

[Virtus]

there are a couple already cooktobank and chefinjeans

[Veloce]

Maybe I should. I dunno. I just post on RVF since this site has given a shitload to me for free.

I make a pretty good living at work, but some side cash never hurts.

I know there's plenty of culinary sites out there, but my angle would probably be dropping data from a place of lots of experience and working in a few Michelin starred restaurants. I don't like writing about or discussing fancy flavor combinations, even if I have a few of those tricks up my sleeve. I don't like dropping data on fine dining or molecular gastronomy. I think it's best to go over the basics since I notice that's the weak point of most home (and professional for that matter) cooks.

I'll think about it...

[Aliblahba]

If you do I'll guest blog with video. I think the key is to do a lot of basic recipes for guys learning to cook. Add in some recipes to get the pussy wet, crazy mad hatter cakes, foods that raise testosterone, increase libido, recipes for guys that workout, ect. and you'll have a winner. Occasionally throw in something insane like this:

If you decide to start a thread and we'll give some feedback.

@calihunter- chefinjeans is Chad Daring.

[Aliblahba]

Some photos from the "cocina de Ali". Enjoy!


   


   


   


   

[Prowl]

I cooked for a living for a few years in college.

IMO this is a good thing to use on girls but only if you really know what youre doing. Dont make an occasion out of it, make it seem like she is just coming over to have something you would have made anyway but it should blow her mind.

I like roasting whole fish with fennel or something. Looks impressive, goes well with the white wines girls like, is easy to do, etc. I can mise it up, pop it in, play CoD.

[Veloce]

^^^ RVF thanksgiving at Ali's house...

bunch of steaks with black pepper, cognac sauce, mushrooms, stuffed baked potatoes...looks great man.

[HiFlo]

gimme the down & dirty on cookin indian food. i love i.t.

[Art Pimp]

(12-13-2012 12:23 AM)HiFlo Wrote:  

gimme the down & dirty on cookin indian food. i love i.t.

You have to make an initial $30-$50 dollar investment on spices but then you'll have them all for years.

[Veloce]

(12-13-2012 12:23 AM)HiFlo Wrote:  

gimme the down & dirty on cookin indian food. i love i.t.

Each culture has base ingredients that they use for almost all dishes

French-Mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery)
Cajun-Holy Trinity (Onion, bell peppers, celery)
Portuguese-Refogado (Onions, garlic, tomato)
Italian-Soffrito (onions, garlic, celery)
Spanish-Sofrito (see above)

This holds true to many asian cuisines as well. While I don't know the names they would be:

Chinese- Garlic, ginger, scallion
Indian- Garlic, ginger, onion

Knowing this, you can compose very rudimentary Indian dishes with this vegetable mixture, some curry mixture (don't buy curry powder, look for Garam Masala.), some vegetables, fish, lamb or chicken as your protein, and coconut milk or yogurt.

Sweat the garlic, ginger, and onion until translucent. Coat your protein in the garam masala and add to pan with whatever other vegetables you're using. Cook lightly, and then add either coconut milk or yogurt, about a half cup of water, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until everything is tender. Remove the lid and reduce to acheive a thicker consistency, and season. I typically add a red jalapeno or other fresh chile to my curries since I love spice. Finish your dish with plenty of chopped mint or cilantro or both.

This is very basic Indian cooking but it's a start. It's an incredibly diverse and complex cuisine and hyper regional. If you had to generalize the different regions I'd say it's broken down like:
Mughal (influenced from Pakistan and the northwest)
Muslim (influenced from northern regions)
Goan (this is where you get Vindaloo, the spicy shit. West coast spice trade style)
Kerala (also west coast spice trade)
Madras or Masala (this is the real OG Indian curry. The oldest and most traditional)

Each of these regions has their own unique touches. Some of these mofos put rose petals in their curries making them floral. Others are spicy as hell. Some use more cream and heavy dishes (usually colder regions) while others are lighter and stick to yogurt. Do a search on amazon for indian cookbooks; there are some amazing ones out there.