Topic: NWR's WorldWide Test Kitchen

[BlackNMild2k1]

Hopefully the burrito turns out better than that post...

[Fatty The Hutt]

yeah yeah.
you try to be helpful...

[BlackNMild2k1]

I have made these burritos a couple of times now and they are really great. Highly recommended. It's not my recipe but it's damn good.

I will attempt a copy/paste of the recipe here too in case the link doesn't work. It can be finicky for some reason. The pictures and format won't work and all that but at least you will have the recipe.

Talkbacker Burritos

Talkbacker Burritos (aka Willardā€™s Incredible Burritos!)
First things first: Iā€™m not messing around here. These burritos take a long time to make and they demand care and attention to detail. And they will absolutely kick your ass when you eat them, so if you decide to try to make these for yourself, please, proceed with some fucking respect.  End preamble.

Okay, this is a recipe that I have developed over a few years of trial and error. It started as a way of making a better frozen burrito ā€” I used to eat a lot of frozen burritos before it occurred to me that theyā€™re mostly disgusting. Many of the techniques I use/choices I make are most assuredly not what an actual chef or a cook would do. I donā€™t know what an actual chef would do.

They probably never touch ground beef, for starters, and would certainly avoid any pre-packaged seasonings like the plague. Itā€™s important to note too, that these are not meant to be authentic.  But, if you follow this recipe to the letter, I can pretty much guarantee that your taste buds will yell ā€œhooray!ā€, and thatā€™s all that counts.

YOU WILL NEED:
2 medium onions, variety optional (but Yellow work nicely)
Several cloves of garlic, depending on tolerance, up to an entire head
Some butter and some olive oil (and please, spend a couple of bucks on your olive oil, will ya?)
1 cup high-grade Basmati rice* (the cultural incongruity here is irrelevant)
750 ā€“ 1000 grams (1 1/2 ā€“ 2 lbs) extra-lean ground beef
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups V8
1/2 cup Guinness Draught (the remainder of the can is consumed by the chef as a bonus)
Hot sauce to taste. This can include Tabasco, Frankā€™s, or whatever you have on hand really. If you want to be fucking professional, however, you will get yourself some Cholula sauce.
La CosteƱa** Taquera sauce
1 can (546 ml) La CosteƱa Refried Pinto Beans
1 package Old El Passo Burrito mix. This must be the Burrito package. The Taco or Fajita ones will not do. Iā€™ve tried them and they fail.
1 ā€“ 2 packages Casa Mendosa*** large flour tortillas (they come in packs of ten, and this recipe will yield approx 12-15 burritos)
1 tbsp (approx) chili powder
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper (fresh ground) to taste
Old cheddar cheese, shredded

*Getting good rice is important. I have had disastrous experiences with cheap grocery store ā€œBasmatiā€. I recommend Elephant Brand first, followed by Suraj. Both good brands sold in distinctive burlap sacs. There are probably other fine brands if you ask around or know how to google things.

**La CosteƱa is a brand imported from Mexico that makes various canned and bottled Mexican convenience foods. They sit in the isle next to the Old El Paso, for less than half the price and more than double the quality. I highly recommend them.

***Casa Mendosa Large Flour Tortillas work far better than almost anything else.  Most wraps will break if you try to fold them.  These work beautifully.  If you cannot find them, I hope you know of another option.  Not all tortillas are created equal, I will tell you that.

Stage One: Rice
The rice will be a brighter shade of red than it appears to be in this photo. Camera phones. This is a quasi-Spanish rice that I invented in a fit of whimsy. I call it Willardā€™s Incredible Quasi-Spanish Rice. Preparation of the rice is a two-stage process. There is the rice itself, the preparation of which sounds odd but actually works, and secondly, there is a mix of onion and garlic that will be combined with the rice to arrive at the final product.

Start by adding one cup of rice to a medium-sized pot. Then, add 1 cup of chicken stock, 1 cup of V8, a smear of butter, 1 (very approximate) tbsp chili powder, and as much hot sauce as you think you can handle (salt is not necessary as it is typically present in the stock), and bring just to a boil. Immediately turn the burner as low as it will go and cover the pot (if itā€™s boiling too fiercely, give it a moment to simmer down before covering it to avoid a boil-over. This isnā€™t an issue on a gas stove, but might be on an electric or smooth-top). Leave it alone for 20 minutes, then remove from heat and let it sit without removing the lid. After 5 minutes, remove lid, and give it a good stir to mix it all up ā€” a lot of the saucy mix mix will have settled on the top.

In the meantime, chop an onion as finely as your hands are capable. Also chop as much garlic as you feel you can reasonably stand. If you have any balls, you will chop at least 4 or 5 cloves, but thereā€™s no shame in only doing 3 if you think you canā€™t handle it. Any less, and your burritos will begin to suffer, but I understand some people just hate garlic. In an absolute worst-case-scenario, I will permit you to use freeze-dried or minced garlic from a jar. Chop ā€˜em as fine as you can. Add these to a large skillet, and fry with a very liberal dose of olive oil and some butter (more olive oil than butter). Iā€™m not really sure of the amounts as I always eyeball things, but use more than you would think you need. The reason for this is that you are transferring all of that garlic and onion flavour into the oil, and the oil will coat the rice when itā€™s ready. Fry this for a good 10 minutes or so on medium heat, along with a good dash of salt and and a heavy sprinkling of coarsely ground pepper. When it looks done (the onions are clear), add the rice. Mix well, and voila! Willardā€™s Incredible Quasi-Spanish Rice.

Stage Two:  Beef & Bean Filling
1) Beef and onion. So Willard.
2) The liquid stage.
3) Evaporate fully.
4) Add beans.

Next is the beef and bean mix.
Brown the beef in a large skillet, and by brown, I mean really fry the snot out of it. You donā€™t want grey meat. You want brown meat. Get it so you have little brown crusties of burnt meat goodness on the bottom. Then add your onion, garlic, fresh-ground pepper, salt, and continue to fry for a few minutes, until the onions soften up.
Add 1 cup chicken broth, the Guinness, 1 cup V8, hot sauce, the Old El Paso Burrito mix, the brown sugar, and mix thoroughly.
Simmer at medium heat. This will take a little time to simmer down, so drink the remainder of the Guinness and enjoy yourself. You want to evaporate out all of the liquid, especially since weā€™ve added the Guinness. I canā€™t tell you exactly what adding dark ale does to a dish, but it does something. However, that can be ruined by not boiling out all of the booze. So allow it to simmer until the mixture is firm.
Turn off the heat, add the can of refried beans, and mix it all up. This might look a little unappealing, but itā€™s all going inside the burrito so thatā€™s not an issue. And there you have your beef and bean mix.

Stage Three: Building Your Tasty Burrito
Keep the filling in the bottom half so it will fold, and donā€™t fill too full.
Throw that sucker right on the flame, and get a thin layer of sour cream going. Now we make the actual burritos. Take your tortilla, and heat it up. You need to do this for two reasons: first, it makes it more pliable, and secondly, in the method I describe, it makes it taste better.
If you have a gas stove, this works great, just turn on a burner and lay the wrap over it for a second or two, right over the flame, moving it around quickly to get it evenly warmed. A little bit of black is great, this will improve the flavour of the wrap quite a bit.  If you donā€™t have a gas stove, you can just use a pan. I donā€™t know how well that will work, though. I have a gas stove. (Although, I have had good results from a glass-top. Just lay it right on there and flip with a metal spatula after a moment.)
Next, lay it flat and spread about a spoonful of sour cream evenly over the entire surface of the tortilla. This will act as the glue when we wrap it up. Now, in the bottom half of the tortilla, add about a quarter-cup of the beef and bean mixture, in a bit of an elongated shape (like a burrito!).
Cover this with as much cheese as you like, followed by a little less rice than the amount of the beef mix that you added. Pour over a little taquera sauce (or whatever salsa you can find), and wrap it all up by folding the bottom half up and tucking it under, then folding in the sides, and completing the turn.
Go ahead and make yourself a couple of these, and then plate ā€˜em up and nuke them for about a minute on high, to make sure the cheese is melted. Let sit for a minute, and then dig in, adding hot sauce as desired. You now have yourself some Talkbacker Burritos!

All we need now is a musket and weā€™re ready for shenanigans

A quick note here: If properly constructed, these burritos should be considered finger-food.  No fork required. They hold together quite nicely and should not spill any fillings out onto the plate.  Very nice if you plan on eating them whilst reading the Dojo.

Bon appƩtit!

I fixed that for you. now we can read it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I came up with a good ass Tilapia recipe. I made it for the 2nd time tonite, and it was delicious both times.

I used tilapia fillets, some tomato basil spread, mayo, salt, pepper, and a little garlic.
put it over rice and it was so good.

I'll post details later.... maybe. I got pics too.

[ShyGuy]

mmmmmmm

[BlackNMild2k1]

The pics are in reverse, but the recipe is super simple.

salt and pepper the fish, lightly sprinkle some garlic on one side.

mix the Tomato Basil spread 50/50 with some mayo
spread mixture ontop of season filets.

bake in over @ 375 for 20 or so minutes, until done, and then serve.

quick, easy, delicious.

[ShyGuy]

I tried a Szechuan garlic pork stir fry recipe that turned out really well. I need to practice my stir fry more often.



You cut the pork into 2 in by 1/4 in pieces, marinate it in baking soda, then toss it with rice wine and corn starch. make a sauce of sugar, soy sauce, chicken broth, fish sauce, ketchup, vinegar and sesame oil, slice up some shiitake mushrooms and celery, make a paste to flavor your oil from siracha, green onions and garlic, then get to stir frying!

[ThePerm]

I own a Breakfast Sandwich maker now. The eggs come out perfect. I should do an update for MCHamDamn!

[BlackNMild2k1]

KFC Secret Recipe Revealed!!

The recipe reads:

11 spices ā€” Mix with 2 cups white flour
1.) 2/3 Ts salt
2.) 1/2 Ts thyme
3.) 1/2 Ts basil
4.) 1/3 Ts oregano
5.) 1 Ts celery salt
6.) 1 Ts black pepper
7.) 1 Ts dried mustard
8.) 4 Ts paprika
9.) 2 Ts garlic salt
10) 1 Ts ground ginger
11) 3 Ts white pepper

The Tribune's food staff was quick to test the recipe and deduced that the "Ts" measurement is shorthand for tablespoon, not teaspoon. The verdict? The recipe "is the real deal." The only addition the group felt was necessary to add to make it perfect, was MSG ā€” confirmed as an ingredient by a KFC spokesperson.

(Another publication has since declared that the recipe has "too much paprika" to be the KFC recipe, but we'll leave that for the home cooks to judge.)

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Recipe-for-KFC-s-fried-chicken-possibly-9180519.php

[ThePerm]

I found a youtube video by one of Col.Sanders great grand nephew saying it was way off.

Also note, you got to pressure cook these things. If you want the skin to taste just right and have the right texture and want all the flavors to get up in that meat pressure cooking is essential.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Incoming recipe. 

Crab and Shrimp Chowder!!



also add some pepper, garlic powder, and flour* (* if needed).

This one is incredibly good and extremely simple.
---------------------------
1 Can of of soup serves 3-4 people - recipe stated below is based on 1 Family Size can of soup.


1) I like to chop up my shrimp so you have potential to get the shrimp in every bite. (Roughly about as much shrimp as crab)


2) Add can of soup, the shrimp, and 8oz of Heavy Whipping Cream (per family size can of soup) and bring to a boil

3) add seasoning: Old Bay Seafood Seasoning, Pepper and Garlic Powder
mix it all in and let cook for 15-20 minutes or so, stirring once in a while.

4) chop up the chunk crab bits, then add to the soup mix (can also add flour for thickening)
 
Stir in, and let boil for another 5+ minutes - check flavor and season to taste

5) Serve and enjoy

add a little hot sauce for spice if need be

[ShyGuy]

powder?

[BlackNMild2k1]

yes. Garlic powder....

oh, and a little flour as well.

[ShyGuy]

oh... chowder! I'm tired and need to go to bed. It looks good!

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm really liking this Instant Pot I bought.

I made a Honey Glazed Ham that turned out amazing
I made Pot Roast that was pretty damn good (1st recipe attempted, I need to tweak it a little next time)
I made a Lemon Chicken that turned out really good
I made some BBQ Ribs that literally fell off the bone.... almost couldn't get them out the pot
and tonight I just made some Hong Kong Pork Shoulder over rice (a rice bowl!!!)
OMG, it was fucking delicious.

I really should have taken a pic of tonights meal. I so damn full right now, it's unhealthy.
Even my daughter went back for seconds.... neither of us finished it though. LOL it was too much, but so good.

Anyone else got or use an Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker?

[ShyGuy]

I've been curious about getting one. My cousin bought a air fryer combo one and I need to try his out sometime.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I came back in here to double check a recipe and damn, Tinypic is gone... Photobucket is blurred, which means so many either missing or ugly pics now

Edit :photobucket still shows the pics on my phone. They are blurred on the computer tho.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I decided to experiment with some ramen recently, try something new, and utilize the ingredients in my cabinets and fridge to make a flavorful soup.

What I tried I liked, so I thought I would share it.

First of all, I started using chicken or beef broth to replace most of the water to boil the noodles in.

in later attempts, I started using cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, or cream of mushroom & chicken soup to thicken up and flavor the soup more.

I'm of course still doing all the usual stuff, like adding a varied mix of veggies and meats like:
mushrooms, onions, green onions, carrots, celery, bok choy, minced garlic, chopped/sliced/shredded chicken, pork, steak

I'm also seasoning the the mix before adding the noodles with mostly pepper, garlic powder, minced onions, oregano, and whatever other seasonings sound good for specific flavors or added spice.

(as of now, I still use the seasoning packet that it comes with since I don't use any salt, but I'm sure it's still pretty good without it if I just salted the mix myself)

But I also like to crack an egg into the soup about 1 minute before done.

other ingredients that I've seen my girl use in her soup includes:
broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes

any other stuff you all would recommend trying in the ramen mix?

[BlackNMild2k1]

Incoming recipe. 

Crab and Shrimp Chowder!!

also add some pepper, garlic powder, and flour* (* if needed).

This one is incredibly good and extremely simple.
---------------------------
1 Can of of soup serves 3-4 people - recipe stated below is based on 1 Family Size can of soup.


1) I like to chop up my shrimp so you have potential to get the shrimp in every bite. (Roughly about as much shrimp as crab)

2) Add can of soup, the shrimp, and 8oz of Heavy Whipping Cream (per family size can of soup) and bring to a boil

3) add seasoning: Old Bay Seafood Seasoning, Pepper and Garlic Powder
mix it all in and let cook for 15-20 minutes or so, stirring once in a while.

4) chop up the chunk crab bits, then add to the soup mix (can also add flour for thickening)
Stir in, and let boil for another 5+ minutes - check flavor and season to taste

5) Serve and enjoy
add a little hot sauce for spice if need be

I'm about to make this again, but switch it up a lil bit.
Gonna chop up some yellow potatoes and add a corn salad to give it a lil bit of a different texture.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

edit: Also HAPPY THANKGIVING NWR Fam

Anyone care to post pics of their turkey this year?
maybe even a recipe on how you prepped/cooked it?

[BlackNMild2k1]

Fyi, the potatoes and the spicy corn salad were the prefect additions to this recipe.

[BlackNMild2k1]

So how'd all your turkeys turn out!!?



What did you all make for Thanksgiving?