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Post by songstarliner on Mar 3, 2016 0:10:47 GMT -5
.... you're my only hope.
Let's have a thread where we can ask advice about culinary quandaries, because we all get a little stuck now and then.
For example: I got a couple of pounds of ground round for free from my husband's place of employ. What should I do with it? I think it's leaner than your typical hamburger meat, right? What's the best way to use it? Forgive me: I'm a recently lapsed vegetarian who never learned how to cook meat.
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moimoi
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Post by moimoi on Mar 3, 2016 1:10:26 GMT -5
.... you're my only hope. Let's have a thread where we can ask advice about culinary quandaries, because we all get a little stuck now and then. For example: I got a couple of pounds of ground round for free from my husband's place of employ. What should I do with it? I think it's leaner than your typical hamburger meat, right? What's the best way to use it? Forgive me: I'm a recently lapsed vegetarian who never learned how to cook meat. Taco Thursday? Or I can give you a recipe for samosas. |
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dＬᵒ
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Post by dＬᵒ on Mar 3, 2016 4:30:28 GMT -5
songstarliner Combine baking with meat into the glory known as pirozhki Mmmmm, meatbread 
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Post by pairesta on Mar 3, 2016 7:40:14 GMT -5
Round is indeed leaner and tougher, but the grinding it up part took care of that. You're going to want to cook it wet, like as a pasta sauce, instead of grilling or roasting it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 3, 2016 8:38:08 GMT -5
That's a good start on a batch of chili, either Texas red or a simpler hot dog chili.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 3, 2016 8:41:39 GMT -5
songstarliner Combine baking with meat into the glory known as pirozhki Mmmmm, meatbread Pirozhki, particularly the ones from Czech Stop in West, Texas, are up there with breakfast tacos among the world's great foods. Not coincidentally, my favorite pirozhkis are also stuffed with scrambled eggs, meat and cheese. |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 3, 2016 9:49:30 GMT -5
Hmm, meatballs could work (especially cooked in sauce), or chili, definitely. Taco meat, cooked with sauce.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Mar 3, 2016 10:03:09 GMT -5
I used to make a turkey meatloaf that dealt with the relative dryness of ground turkey by mixing some shredded zucchini in. Maybe something like that could work here?
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Post by songstarliner on Mar 3, 2016 13:12:04 GMT -5
Thanks everybody! I think I'll make a bolognese sauce, and then eat it all by myself because both my boys are veg  |
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Post by pairesta on Mar 3, 2016 13:35:20 GMT -5
Thanks everybody! I think I'll make a bolognese sauce, and then eat it all by myself because both my boys are veg If the smell of bolognese cooking doesn't sway their resolve, nothing will, and they are certainly made of stronger character than I am. |
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Post by pairesta on Mar 9, 2016 9:44:04 GMT -5
OK, this is for the Canadians out there like Powerthirteen and Lt. Broccoli , but anyone else can weigh in of course. My daughter has picked "Canada" as our part of the world to make a meal from together this month. Now of course, I'm immediately thinking poutine (we have a favorite pic of her at four years old being served her first ever poutine while on a trip to Montreal). But I don't want to rule anything more fun and interesting out. So what food is "Canada" for you? What can you only get there, or what you miss from there? |
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Post by pairesta on Mar 9, 2016 9:45:29 GMT -5
(She also picked "Belize" as an alternate, just because she likes the word 'Beliz' which she pronounced "BEE-lies". But she has had Canada as her alternate choice each month so far, so I think we'll go with that.)
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Mar 9, 2016 9:49:48 GMT -5
Mmmmmm, poutine. I had a poutine with duck confit and duck gravy at a gastropub in Columbia, MD, several years ago and I swear I still dream about it.
What about Nanaimo Bars?
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Mar 9, 2016 9:58:04 GMT -5
On my last trip to Canada I went to a restaurant in Ottawa that came highly recommended, and got a burrito that ended up having chunks of carrots in the spiceless, smooth red sauce. I suspect that's a food you can only get in Canada!
The moral of the story, of course, is don't listen to anyone who tells you a Mexican place in Ottawa is worth eating at.
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Ben Grimm
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Post by Ben Grimm on Mar 9, 2016 10:52:15 GMT -5
OK, this is for the Canadians out there like Powerthirteen and Lt. Broccoli , but anyone else can weigh in of course. My daughter has picked "Canada" as our part of the world to make a meal from together this month. Now of course, I'm immediately thinking poutine (we have a favorite pic of her at four years old being served her first ever poutine while on a trip to Montreal). But I don't want to rule anything more fun and interesting out. So what food is "Canada" for you? What can you only get there, or what you miss from there? My mother's family is Canadian, so I'd visit all the time growing up (and occasionally as an adult). One thing would be "smoked meat" (this is apparently a Canadian culinary term of art) . It's somewhere along the pastrami/corned beef continuum, but it's its own thing, as near as I can tell. Fiddleheads are something I associate with Canada, but it may be because I've only ever had them there. They're a kind of edible fern. The other stuff I tend to associate specifically with Canada would be some game meats (like caribou) that probably aren't going to be easy to get hold of. |
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Post by Powerthirteen on Mar 9, 2016 10:55:15 GMT -5
Some things I associate with Canada:
- perogies. At least in my neck of the woods, you can't go five feet in a supermarket without tripping over a bag of frozen perogies, although that might be too Ukrainian for your purposes.
- Cruller donuts (the real deal, not the pale imitations at Krispy Kreme.)
- Donairs
And I would strongly second She-hulk's Nanaimo bar suggestion.
In Vancouver, the food is mostly just "Over-priced franchise restaurants," though.
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Post by Powerthirteen on Mar 9, 2016 10:56:21 GMT -5
My mother's family is Canadian, so I'd visit all the time growing up (and occasionally as an adult). One thing would be "smoked meat" (this is apparently a Canadian culinary term of art) . It's somewhere along the pastrami/corned beef continuum, but it's its own thing, as near as I can tell. Fiddleheads are something I associate with Canada, but it may be because I've only ever had them there. They're a kind of edible fern. The other stuff I tend to associate specifically with Canada would be some game meats (like caribou) that probably aren't going to be easy to get hold of. Montreal smoked meat always scared me because it refused to specify what KIND of meat it was. |
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Ben Grimm
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Post by Ben Grimm on Mar 9, 2016 10:57:43 GMT -5
My mother's family is Canadian, so I'd visit all the time growing up (and occasionally as an adult). One thing would be "smoked meat" (this is apparently a Canadian culinary term of art) . It's somewhere along the pastrami/corned beef continuum, but it's its own thing, as near as I can tell. Fiddleheads are something I associate with Canada, but it may be because I've only ever had them there. They're a kind of edible fern. The other stuff I tend to associate specifically with Canada would be some game meats (like caribou) that probably aren't going to be easy to get hold of. Montreal smoked meat always scared me because it refused to specify what KIND of meat it was. It's beef. I have no idea why they don't just call it smoked beef. |
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Post by pairesta on Mar 9, 2016 11:16:06 GMT -5
Yeah, their smoked meat/smoked beef is basically pastrami, with different spices. I made a point of getting it when we were there, much to the rest of my family's chagrin.
That does entail nearly a week of curing time in addition to cold smoking though, so I don't think I'll be going that route.
Nanaimo bars look interesting though. That way I can pull in my wife on the project too since she's normally the baker. That could be fun!
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Post by Powerthirteen on Mar 9, 2016 11:19:13 GMT -5
Yeah, their smoked meat/smoked beef is basically pastrami, with different spices. I made a point of getting it when we were there, much to the rest of my family's chagrin. That does entail nearly a week of curing time in addition to cold smoking though, so I don't think I'll be going that route. Nanaimo bars look interesting though. That way I can pull in my wife on the project too since she's normally the baker. That could be fun! With nanaimo bars, the trick is to find a recipe that isn't tooth-achingly sweet, with a bottom layer that's more of a cookie than a fudge brownie, and a custard layer that's actually custardy instead of just icing. |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Mar 9, 2016 11:21:28 GMT -5
Montreal smoked meat always scared me because it refused to specify what KIND of meat it was. Think smaller. With more legs. |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Mar 9, 2016 11:27:16 GMT -5
Canadian food is pretty regional based on whichever ethnic groups were that areas primary first or second wave immigrants.
Re: Meal type things
Tourtiere and Poutine, Halifax style donair, Perogies/Kielbasa and Lakefish/Bison for the prairies
RE: Sweets
Nanaimo Bars are good, also butter tarts (or more easily butter tart squares), Tarte au Sucre (Maple sugar pie), Beavertails if you want to go for the pure Ottawa tourist nonsense.
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Post by Powerthirteen on Mar 9, 2016 11:29:20 GMT -5
Canadian food is pretty regional based on whichever ethnic groups were that areas primary first or second wave immigrants. Re: Meal type things Tourtiere and Poutine, Halifax style donair, Perogies/Kielbasa and Lakefish/Bison for the prairies RE: Sweets Nanaimo Bars are good, also butter tarts (or more easily butter tart squares), Tarte au Sucre (Maple sugar pie), Beavertails if you want to go for the pure Ottawa tourist nonsense. Dammit I forgot about butter tart squares! When we were kids my sister (who liked cotton candy and other pure-sugar "treats") thought they were "too sweet," while I, who didn't give a shit about candy, loved them inordinately. |
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Post by Powerthirteen on Mar 9, 2016 11:29:45 GMT -5
Montreal smoked meat always scared me because it refused to specify what KIND of meat it was. Think smaller. With more legs. ...mutant beavers? |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Mar 9, 2016 11:29:52 GMT -5
On my last trip to Canada I went to a restaurant in Ottawa that came highly recommended, and got a burrito that ended up having chunks of carrots in the spiceless, smooth red sauce. I suspect that's a food you can only get in Canada! The moral of the story, of course, is don't listen to anyone who tells you a Mexican place in Ottawa is worth eating at. I can think of a ton of great restaurants in Ottawa... Mexican wouldn't be anywhere on that list heh. Though we have some passable mexican restaurants here these days that's still something I gorge on while in the states because good cheap mexican food will just never be a thing here. |
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Post by Lt. Broccoli on Mar 9, 2016 13:12:13 GMT -5
For me the most Canadian meal is roast beef and Yorkshire puddings...which is actually an English thing, and something we inherited from my grandparents. I don't really know what "Canadian food" is!
The one biggest difference between Canadian and US food for me is that Mr. Christie makes the stuff that Nabisco makes in the US, and the Mr. Christie versions taste so much better. Like, Nabisco Oreos are weird and gross.
Anyway, as mentioned above, butter tarts, man. Butter tarts are where it's at.
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heroboy
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Post by heroboy on Mar 9, 2016 13:16:06 GMT -5
Pickerel is a traditionally Canadian fish (probably also in parts of the northern US). The standard preparation that I grew up with and going to pickerel fries is to coat the fillet in a flour/salt/pepper mix, then fry it in butter. If there are other ways to cook it in other regions, I don't want to know.
Maybe for a pre-meal snack you could get ketchup chips.
ETA: This may not be great for your daughter, but for cocktails, you could always consider a Caesar (Clamato juice, Vodka, Tabasco Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, salted rim, and adorned with a celery).
Also: Saskatoon Berry Pie. Whelp, I think I've got my lunch plans down.
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Post by Buon Funerale Amigos on Mar 9, 2016 13:33:39 GMT -5
How did we get this far into a conversation about Canadian food without discussing peameal bacon yet?
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Mar 9, 2016 13:34:54 GMT -5
Pickerel is a traditionally Canadian fish (probably also in parts of the northern US). The standard preparation that I grew up with and going to pickerel fries is to coat the fillet in a flour/salt/pepper mix, then fry it in butter. If there are other ways to cook it in other regions, I don't want to know.
Maybe for a pre-meal snack you could get ketchup chips.
ETA: This may not be great for your daughter, but for cocktails, you could always consider a Caesar (Clamato juice, Vodka, Tabasco Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, salted rim, and adorned with a celery).
Also: Saskatoon Berry Pie. Whelp, I think I've got my lunch plans down.
Depending on where you are/where your fish is sourced from what we call pickerel may or may not be walleye down south as well. And yeah, saskatoons forever... that'll be hard to find though (I generally send saskatoon jam or pie filling as one of my culinary secret santa things.) How did we get this far into a conversation about Canadian food without discussing peameal bacon yet? Annoyingly Peameal isn't a thing everywhere in Canada. Good cheap peameal is one of the things I miss from my time living down east. |
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heroboy
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Post by heroboy on Mar 9, 2016 13:37:47 GMT -5
Depending on where you are/where your fish is sourced from what we call pickerel may or may not be walleye down south as well. And yeah, saskatoons forever... that'll be hard to find though (I generally send saskatoon jam or pie filling as one of my culinary secret santa things.) Yeah, I didn't really want to get into the hole pickerel/walleye/pike quagmire. I thought I had the whole thing figured out, but the internet is less than helpful and now I'm not sure I knew what I used to know. |
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