Post Your Food Photos !

Look fine from here too, Greg. Those sweet potato chips look like they came out just grand!

Celia, burrata is made from mozzarella and cream. The outside is mozzarella, the inside is a mixture of cream and mozzarella. It is seriously good!

Ah, I know what this is, thanks Cynthia! I've had it on top of pasta - when it was burst open, the red sauce went a gorgeous creamy crimson...

Does anyone else find this plating of a brownie questionable?

Money shot brownie (2).jpg

rwj

Um...what's the stuff on the top?

Robert puts something of himself into every dish.

Robert puts something of himself into every dish.

While this is true the above pic is not my dish. A friend sent the pic to me. But, come on, we all know what that looks like. Right, Celia?


rwj

Glucose syrup?

Such an innocent young lass.

I was thinking a powdered sugar glaze of some sort.

I think, from a chemistry point of view, Celia nailed it.

rwj

All this talk about bagels meant I had to make some:

YOU MADE THESE BAGELS?!!! I think I should just stop trying to keep up on this forum. Clearly, I'm out of my league. You go, Celia, wit yo badd ass (or arse, as you say)!!!

So, anyway, here are the crab cakes from my party.

Crab Cakes2.jpg

I used Ina Garten's recipe on the FoodNetwork website. However, I only used about half the aromatics. Refrigerated the mixture over night and drained off the excess moisture before shaping, breading (with panko) and frying them. I made the Roasted Red Pepper Romesco starting with a basic vinaigrette from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, then added the necessary ingredients (a little bread, roasted red peppers, paprika, smoked almonds). Everyone had two helpings of the crab cakes which were about 2-1/2" round and about 1" thick. Yummy!

Those look delicious Jo Ann.

I really enjoy that cookbook. Not only does it have some wonderful recipes, but it inspires me to try other things. It's sort of intuitive cooking, if that makes sense.

YOU MADE THESE BAGELS?!!! I think I should just stop trying to keep up on this forum. Clearly, I'm out of my league. You go, Celia, wit yo badd ass (or arse, as you say)!!!

So, anyway, here are the crab cakes from my party.

Crab Cakes2.jpg

I used Ina Garten's recipe on the FoodNetwork website. However, I only used about half the aromatics. Refrigerated the mixture over night and drained off the excess moisture before shaping, breading (with panko) and frying them. I made the Roasted Red Pepper Romesco starting with a basic vinaigrette from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, then added the necessary ingredients (a little bread, roasted red peppers, paprika, smoked almonds). Everyone had two helpings of the crab cakes which were about 2-1/2" round and about 1" thick. Yummy!

She's not the "Village Baker" for nothing.

Nice lookin' cakes Jo Ann. I absolutely adore crab cakes.

rwj

YOU MADE THESE BAGELS?!!! I think I should just stop trying to keep up on this forum. Clearly, I'm out of my league. You go, Celia, wit yo badd ass (or arse, as you say)!!!

Thanks, Jo. (You too, Cowboy )

I, on the other hand, admire anyone who cooks with crab. I've always found it daunting - I can attack a crab and end up with just the tiniest bit of meat! Your crabcakes look delish!

Celia, great looking bagels.

Here is dinner from tonight. Cheeseburger on brioche with a homegrown tomato, sweet potato and russet frites (decided to try a different blade on the mandoline tonight), and a growler of IPA from the local microbrewer, Twin Lakes.

Not bagels, but not bad.

Now I have to go out and buy potatoes and peanut oil for my deep fryer. Along with onions for rings. Thanks, Greg.

Yum, Cynthia! How's the onion ring quest going?

Those look delicious Jo Ann.

I really enjoy that cookbook. Not only does it have some wonderful recipes, but it inspires me to try other things. It's sort of intuitive cooking, if that makes sense.

Right Patti. Great cookbook. Another one that is written in much the same manner that also inspires is Sara Foster's Casual Cooking, and not to be left out, Kurt Dammeier's Pure Flavors.

A few of the desserts from my Party. I will not post the main course because the plate was uninteresting, but the flavors were smashing.

Desserts4.JPG

All of the desserts were fabulous. Not pictured is a bottle of Moody Blues Blackberry Port made by yours truly, which was served with the fruit and cheese platter. The dessert that most people come back for again and again is the Rum Cake. It is a recipe I found on the net many years ago posted as Almost Tortuga Rum Cake. I have played with the recipe in many different ways (using coconut pudding mix and coconut rum makes it a much more interesting cake; using lemon pudding mix, lemon juice and zest makes it special; and using about 1/2 tsp almond extract in the batter and amaretto liqueur [replacing walmuts with toasted almonds] makes it very tasty).

Almost Tortuga Rum Cake
(Note: This mix can be made ahead and stored in the freezer indefinitely to be used later for other types of cake. Following are ingredients to make rum cake.)
2 C cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 ½ C granulated sugar
½ C butter, cut into pieces
4 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

For Rum Cake
½ C finely chopped walnuts
½ C favorite white rum
1 (3.5 oz) pkg vanilla pudding mix
½ C vegetable oil
½ C milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs

Rum Soaking Glaze
½ C butter (NO SUBSTITUTIONS)
1 C granulated sugar
¼ C water
½ C favorite white rum

For the basic cake mix: place all ingredients in food processor fitted with plastic blade and pulse until mixture is the consistency of fine gravel. Place in a freezer bag and store in airtight container in refrigerator for 3 months or in freezer indefinitely.
For Rum Cake: Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray a large Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the chopped nuts into the bottom. Place Basic Cake Mix, pudding mix, milk, eggs, rum, oil and vanilla extract in a large bowl and combine on medium speed with an electric mixer for about 2 or 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl halfway through. Batter should be very smooth (and a little runny). Pour into prepared pan and level out top. Bake until fully golden and tester comes out clean and cake springs back – about 55 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack while making soaking glaze.
Rum soaking glaze: In a small saucepan combine butter, water and sugar. Bring to a boil carefully as mixture boils over very easily. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved and syrup is combined well and a little thicker. Remove from heat and add the rum and mix to combine.
While cake is still cooling, pour hot syrup into and on top of cake. There is a lot of syrup and if cake doesn’t soak it up right away just wait a couple minutes and add the rest. It will take time to soak it up. Cool cake completely in Bundt pan before turnout out onto serving platter. This cake is delicate so once it is turned out it cannot be moved around easily. Can be eaten when fully cool. But it is better the next day.

Jo Ann, those desserts look very tasty! I have made rum cakes from the Bacardi cookbooklet that used to be handed out at liquor stores. I lost it some years back, but need to hunt that book up, always got raves when I made any recipe in it.

Big Green Egg day.

Lunch: Pork Butt, pulled pork sandwich (Ack! what is green doing on that sandwich?!).

Lunch 8-24-08 whole shoulder.jpg

Lunch 8-24-08 Pulled Pork Sndwch.jpg

Dinner: Baby back ribs, fresh baked cornbread and baked beans

Ribs 8-24-08-0078.jpg

Greg, you are a man after my own heart. I don't like anything so much as I love BBQ'd pork meat. And you have all my favorites in spades. I already know how they tasted. Only one question -- did you smoke with wood? If so, what kind?

Hardwood charcoal for the heat, hickory chunks for the smoke. Love hickory for pork.

Hardwood charcoal for the heat, hickory chunks for the smoke. Love hickory for pork.

YUM!!!