The Official EWN Foodie Hangout and Recipe Exchange

[Iron Ape]

Over the past five or so years, cooking has essentially surpassed gaming in terms of my primary hobby. I now cook probably 4 or 5 nights a week- part of that is out of necessity because my girl can't cook for fuck, plus I hate fast food and everything that whole culture of sloppiness entails- and one of those nights always has to include a recipe that I've never made before. I thought by doing a recipe exchange, maybe some of you could assist providing me with some exciting new stuff to test out in the lab. I personally have hundreds of my own recipes to share, and I'll happily take some requests to see if I have anything in my prized recipe box that could potentially help you guys out.

This thread isn't just for recipe exchanging, either. If you have some good foodie stories to share, please do. Any dives in your town that people need to know about? By all means, feel free to do your endorsing here.

I'll start with some simple grilling recipes in a moment, but first I wanted to share this:


Ordered this sucker off of Amazon this morning, hope to have it mid-week. I think the first thing I'm going to do on it is going to have to be ribs. Definitely pork. Probably a smokey chipotle and lime sauce for the finish.

[Robstar]

*drools* That piece of equipment looks the pretty freaking awesome Ape.

I'm attempting grilled tuna steaks tonight with a honey dijon rice wine vinegar soy marinade. I'll let you know how it goes. I would welcome any tuna or salmon steak recipes you might have to share.

[Iron Ape]

The joy of flanking



Flank steaks are usually my steak of choice in the summer months because, in addition to being a cheaper cut of meat, they're just so damn much fun to play with. A lot of people think because it's an inexpensive steak option that must mean that it's a lesser steak in terms of flavor. BULLSHIT. These things are like friggin' flavor sponges, and you'll never grow tired of experimenting with your marinades. That sort of versatility is invaluable, trust me. Regardless of whether you're doing Asian or Southwestern, it's super simple to just establish your framework with the flavor profile of your meat and then build around.

If you don't like your meat a little bloody, then a flank cut probably isn't going to be for you- fuck, if you don't like a little blood, meat-eating period probably isn't for you, but that's better left for another discussion- as it's imperative that the flank be served rare, otherwise things get tough and chewy and then that smaller price tag starts making a little more sense.

Also, and I can't stress this enough: COOKED MEAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE PROPERLY RESTED. ALWAYS. Your steak needs time to reabsorb all of those delicious juices. 10 to 15 minutes should do it. And if you tent your meat immediately after removing from the grill, you won't have to worry about it getting cold.



Is there anything sexier than freshly-carved meat piled on a wooden cutting surface?



Marinade recipes coming up...

[Robstar]

The joy of flanking


Flank steaks are usually my steak of choice in the summer months because, in addition to being a cheaper cut of meat, they're just so damn much fun to play with. A lot of people think because it's an inexpensive steak option that must mean that it's a lesser steak in terms of flavor. BULLSHIT. These things are like friggin' flavor sponges, and you'll never grow tired of experimenting with your marinades. That sort of versatility is invaluable, trust me. Regardless of whether you're doing Asian or Southwestern, it's super simple to just establish your framework with the flavor profile of your meat and then build around.

If you don't like your meat a little bloody, then a flank cut probably isn't going to be for you- fuck, if you don't like a little blood, meat-eating period probably isn't for you, but that's better left for another discussion- as it's imperative that the flank be served rare, otherwise things get tough and chewy and then that smaller price tag starts making a little more sense.

Also, and I can't stress this enough: COOKED MEAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE PROPERLY RESTED. ALWAYS. Your steak needs time to reabsorb all of those delicious juices. 10 to 15 minutes should do it. And if you tent your meat immediately after removing from the grill, you won't have to worry about it getting cold.



Is there anything sexier than freshly-carved meat piled on a wooden cutting surface?



Marinade recipes coming up...

Flavour profile! I nearly fell off my chair! What a beautiful way to describe it.

Yes I have come to agree with your summary of how meat should be cooked and served. If you apply yourself a little you can really open up a new world of joy in the cooking and eating of meats. I look forward to trying some of your recipes Ape.

[Iron Ape]

*drools* That piece of equipment looks the pretty freaking awesome Ape.

I'm attempting grilled tuna steaks tonight with a honey dijon rice wine vinegar soy marinade. I'll let you know how it goes. I would welcome any tuna or salmon steak recipes you might have to share.

Man, I love tuna steaks. That marinade sounds tasty, too. Definitely let me know how those turn out.

I have a fantastic family recipe for a baked salmon that is pretty non-threatening stuff for those who may be a little frightened by their kitchen. After I get a couple of flank steak marinades posted up, I'll see if I can't dig it out (I know most of it by heart, but I want to double-check just to make sure I'm not forgetting anything important).

[Iron Ape]

Flavour profile! I nearly fell off my chair! What a beautiful way to describe it.

Yes I have come to agree with your summary of how meat should be cooked and served. If you apply yourself a little you can really open up a new world of joy in the cooking and eating of meats. I look forward to trying some of your recipes Ape.

Good stuff, bro. If I can get just one other person trying some of these recipes, I will consider this thread a success.

[CricketTragic]

Man, I love tuna steaks. That marinade sounds tasty, too. Definitely let me know how those turn out.

I have a fantastic family recipe for a baked salmon that is pretty non-threatening stuff for those who may be a little frightened by their kitchen. After I get a couple of flank steak marinades posted up, I'll see if I can't dig it out (I know most of it by heart, but I want to double-check just to make sure I'm not forgetting anything important).

Sounds Awesome Ape I will definitely look out for this thread as time goes on.

My recipe of choice this week is Chicken and Bacon Gnocchi:

Pretty simple stuff really all you need to serve two is a
700 gram pack of Gnocchi
6 medium sized rashers of bacon
Some breast Chicken: I use around 500 grams but I love my chicken
Cream
Onion

So basically you boil some water in a pot and while thats boiling, heat your fry pan in preperation of your Chicken first (leave the bacon to later as its better non crisped)
Gnocchi only takes around 5-7 minutes to cook so as your about to add the gnocchi in the pot fry some onion for about 45 seconds to a minute and then add the chicken to fry.
In a separate pan heat up to a medium heat and add bacon when you are just about ready to rinse the gnocchi
This is where timing comes into it, empty the pot of water from the gnocchi quickly as you still want it moist and not dried out and as soon as you get the gnocchi back into the pot add the cooked chicken breast and the cream and have on low to medium heat.
While you are stirring this cook you bacon lightly as you only want it juicy not crisp.
Once you had cooked the bacon quickly cut it into strips and throw it into the pot and cook until hot.

Very simple but very nice

[CricketTragic]

Good stuff, bro. If I can get just one other person trying some of these recipes, I will consider this thread a success.

im your one other person

[Iron Ape]

This little Mexican restaurant by my old house in Maryland had really, really good steak fajitas. So good in fact that I would get them every single time we ordered food from there, and that was at least once a week. And I'm not someone who can get the same thing at the same place every single time, so that's a testament to the tastiness of these little soft, flour pockets of Mexican heaven. And just what was so great about these fajitas you ask? The steak. All charred on the out and deliciously tender on the in. And the marinade? Man, I wanted to fucking know what was in that marinade. I had to know. I even called. Some guy in a ridiculously thick accent laughed me off the phone.

I spent exactly seven weeks cracking that code. 10 orders of steak fajitas before I nailed it. But once I did...man, that was a special moment. No more guys with ridiculously thick accents standing between me and those amazingly-flavored little soft, flour pockets of Mexican heaven. I give to you:

Ape's 'Better than the Mexicans' Marinade' Mexican Marinade

1/4 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Tomato Juice
2 tbsp. Lime Juice
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Spanish Paprika
1 tsp. Cumin (preferably Roasted Cumin)
1 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp.Crushed Red Pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic


Simply combine all of this in a bowl and whisk together. Place your flank steak(s) in a freezer bag and then simply add your marinade. Set in the fridge overnight.

The finished steak (which will take about 5 to 6 minutes on each side over medium-high heat) will be great with fajitas, but it will also work great sliced thin and served under fresh guacamole (and sour cream) or a nice corn relish. A little rice and black beans on the side and you're all set.

[SLEEPY LOCO1]

Here is a pic of mine. I have had it for a almost a year. I mostly just use it for grilling, but I have smoked some cornish game hens and baby back ribs a few times. I want to move up to doing brisket and pork shoulder but I'm still a beginner. I do make my own rub and bbq sauce that I use for everything.