Thread: What's Cooking?

Originally Posted by cudarunner

First and foremost, it's good to see you posing your wonderful foods again.

My mother loved anything that had lemon in it and I'm sure she'd have loved these

I make a lot of the same things. You can only post the same stuff so many times. I’m glad to see everyone is here and staying well fed.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I make a lot of the same things. You can only post the same stuff so many times. I’m glad to see everyone is here and staying well fed.

I for one fully understand. I would think it's kind of like the family slide shows of the summer vacation.---Here's Cuda doing this and here's Cuda doing that etc. But with that said, it is really good to know that you are well and apparently in good spirits.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be playing with the UMAI 70mm for making a test batch of Sopressata---I hope to see you at the Sausage and Smoke Cooking Thread.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I for one fully understand. I would think it's kind of like the family slide shows of the summer vacation.---Here's Cuda doing this and here's Cuda doing that etc. But with that said, it is really good to know that you are well and apparently in good spirits.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be playing with the UMAI 70mm for making a test batch of Sopressata---I hope to see you at the Sausage and Smoke Cooking Thread.

That’s a fun process. I shut my curing chamber down after having made more than I could eat. But it’s time to get it going again. My stocks are now depleted.

Cheesebooger! We generally have cheeseburgers on Saturday. Today I got a little crazy, seared the patty and braised it in a reduction of espresso, tawny port, worcestershire, and kahlua. Yeah I know. Strange combination and it won't get me an extra Michelin star but it was tasty and dripping with drippy juices even though it was cooked to medium. Bacon was microwaved, the ONLY way to get PERFECT bacon for a burger, nice and crispy and evenly cooked. Cheese was plain old yellow American. Beefsteak tomato, sweet onion, pickle plank, well toasted sesame seed bun. Glass of homebrew, of course. This keg is almost done, and I think the next one up is a dark 9% ale, lightly hopped. I always forget what is in what keg and where's the fun of labeling, anyway? Tomorrow is supposed to be deboned, rolled and roasted chicken but I got razors to hone so more likely Papa John's.

Yep burgers are life! But I disagree on micro bacon, I don’t micro anything, when I’m grilling our burgers the bacon goes on the grill also, right alongside the armadillo eggs, crispy every time

Homemade Boston Baked Beans and McKenzie Dogs....and 6 Sams

In my sometimes questionable wisdom I've decided to make Vanilla Extract.

I purchased 2 ounces of Tahitian #1 beans and started in. However after a bit more research I decided to order 4 ounces of Madagascar #1 beans. I also picked up some 80 proof (40% alcohol) vodka to use to extract the oils from the beans. (While I don't drink vodka, I can always use it to make pie crusts )

The YouTube guy I'm using as a base would be what a good friend called 'Pretty Extreme' he has close to 30 years of making vanilla extract and is quite picky, however if I don't shake my bottles 4 times a day I can live with that.

The one thing that I've taken a step further than the YT guy did is that he uses a Vacuum Bag Sealer's hole to attach to jars to remove a bit of the air. I am using my vacuum chamber which will stay on as long as I want so it will remove more air than the bag/jar sealer.

I split the beans lengthwise and then into 3rd's before putting them into the jars.

Here's the pint that I made yesterday afternoon. This was taken today at about the same time I started the process.



To show what a difference the vacuum makes, here's the before and after from tonight when I first split and cut the beans, added the vodka and then put the jar in the vacuum chamber for 1/2 an hour.





Yes the second batch will be a quart. If it all goes well, in about 3-4-5 months I should have either a lifetime supply of pure vanilla extract and enough to share with family and friends or a worthless experiment.

But the way I look at this project is that the final product HAS to taste better than the artificial vanilla flavoring that my mother used.

Wish me well

It's a good thing smell doesn't come through the computer or my waistline would be in big trouble.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

In my sometimes questionable wisdom I've decided to make Vanilla Extract.

Yes the second batch will be a quart. If it all goes well, in about 3-4-5 months I should have either a lifetime supply of pure vanilla extract and enough to share with family and friends or a worthless experiment.

But the way I look at this project is that the final product HAS to taste better than the artificial vanilla flavoring that my mother use.

A couple of months ago I'd ordered a specialty baking pan from King Arthur Flour and today I received a small catalogue from KA. They want $150 for a quart of their vanilla extract. That's about 3 times what I have invested in materials in my quart. They want $90 for a pint of theirs and that's a lot more than 3 times what I have invested in my pint.

Working for myself free of charge seems like it's going to pay off.

You can get a quart of McCormack on Amazon for around $60 and it's perfectly good stuff for baking. Maybe if you drink the stuff you'd want the high end varieties.

Har har.