Dojo Cooking Thread

It takes a while, but is so worth it!

I had some of my dad's Superbowl Chili (he makes it every year) last week and it was just as delicious as ever.

I've made traditional chili twice and both times it came out as well as it could have, but I've also made Cincinnati Chili (which is essentially a thick, brown, meat stew from Greece) 3 times and each time has been PHENOMENAL, apparently the actual Skyline Chili recipe (if you've never been to Ohio/NKY, you must eat Skyline when you get there; they call it Chili and it really isn't, but it's just so damn good).
 
I love berries!

They are so bloody expensive here though; a pint of strawberries usually sells for $5.99 and half of them are shitty (California has had more bad growing seasons than good, since 2009 and that's where we get all of our Strawberries from) and a double package of raspberries is like $8.99. Just ridiculous, I can get a week's-worth of smoked salmon for that price :( (and I do lol).
 
Not really cooking exactly but kinda food related? I guess sort of. So since I was like 13 I have really just stuck to straight beer most of the time as far as alcoholic drinks go. And in recent years I’ve tried to cut down on it a bit but still drink occasionally. But I’ve never tried anything fancier or β€œsophisticated” or whatever. So I found this neat website and decided to order my first whiskey.

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Really I just decided on the first one that caught my attention...and looked comparatively cheap. :p Unfortunately still expensive with tax and delivery. Should have thought about it before when I lived in NH and there was a liquor store at every exit. So I can’t see this being a common thing for me to do anyway. Even so, if I like it I also may consider trying this one some time in the future.

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All I can say is, there are a bunch of different Whiskeys and some are more-refined than others.

My father, for example (has been measured in the 98th percentile by some worldwide Scotch organization, for being able to pick out flavours and the like, legit), will not even entertain one of the ones you've listed above, as they are blends, not Scotch Whiskey and an outright bourbon, respectively; for him, it isn't a refined taste.

Therefore, if you ventured out into Scotch Whiskeys (from Scotland or Japan; I got my dad a nice bottle of Yamazaki when I went in 2016 and he loved it. Different flavor than from Scotland, but the same type and he thought it was great), Rye Whiskeys (such as Canadian Club, which is popular up here), etc., you may find you like those flavours more than the ones you bought.

It's arguably the spirit with the most variation and different types, of all spirits on the planet (though I may be wrong on that!).

I don't know what any of this is like though, as I don't drink... at all (for 2 reasons: 1. Can't because my cancer can come back and 2. I didn't drink before I had cancer either, as everything is repulsive and disgusting to my palate lol).

Anyways, a few of the most-recent dishes I've made, Lomabardian or otherwise:

Lombardian Dish #9, Risotto alla Milanese. Followed the recipe to a T and it tasted great! But the Saffron I used was VERY old, so it's barely-yellow, as opposed to super-deep yellow, like it's supposed to be. Carnaroli rice is definitely better than Arborio, IMO, for this specific dish:

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#10, Marubini, a type of stuffed-pasta from Cremona. I couldn't get the shape right, as I don't have a proper pasta cutter (they're supposed to be balls, basically), so they look ravioli-esque. Super-good though; stuffed with breadcrumbs in broth, nutmeg and two mixes of cooked meat, all blended together. Must eat it in broth!

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I had some tomato sauce left over and the marubini used up WAY LESS pasta than I thought, so I used to rest to make some fresh fettuccini, the next night:

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Saturday, made these air-fried (IE: not actually-fried) calzones, stuffed with Prosciutto Cotto (cooked ham, sliced razor-thin), Tomato Sauce, Bocconcini, A cut-up Barese sausage and olive oil Olives (the ones they use to make Olive Oil, from Greece). Touch of egg-wash on the outside et voila!

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And dish #11: Bruscit di Busto Arsizio. I spent *40* minutes cleaning veal and cutting it up into little bits (I was given the wrong cut; it's still the same meat as it is attached to the correct piece I was to have, but not the correct piece) then it cooked for 2 hours, in a bit of lard and a bit of butter, added red wine three times and let the alcohol cook out/reduce and placed it over polenta, with an appetizer of the Bresaola I made a few weeks ago and a side of Swiss Chard (my last bag from the garden this year :'(). To drink, Lurisia Chinotto, one of the best drinks I've ever had and easily my favourite drink to ever come out of Italy (MAYBE prefer San Pellegrino Limonata).

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Had some leftover pizza dough from the Calzones and leftover chicken from the rotisserie chicken the previous night (which was by design ;)), so I made the, "Chicken Dipper," from Tasty. Basically, cook pizza dough, put BBQ sauce over it, put chicken (that has sat in BBQ sauce) on it, then cover it in Cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses and top it with onions and parsley.

1. Mozzarella would ruin it, IMO, so we don't add it
2. I hate onions (my wife LOVES them), so I didn't add them lol
3. I forgot to thaw out my parsley, so we didn't add it :(

This was the result!

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Made a side cucumber salad (no picture) and that was a nice meal; not filling and aside from the cheese, not unhealthy!
 

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Wonderful Mahi... far and away one of my favourite fish to eat (and to catch! A lot of fun!)

When I was in Costa Rica in 2018, we had a quintuple-header (5 fish on at once) of Mahi and I reeled in in 3, my wife 1 and the mate, 1 as well. We caught about 15 that day and released all but 4, for food and bait (pictured below). We forgot some of the fillets on the boat when we left, but the sashimi was damn good :D. This happened in 2019 as well in Mexico, with Yellowfin Tuna! But because they were much bigger/tougher, we didn't reel all 5 in, in about 7 minutes or so, like we did with the Mahi (my wife in particular, had a really tough time with the Tuna; they fight like monsters).

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As we ate it about 10 minutes after it was caught, it was literally the freshest fish I have ever eaten. Delicious.

This weekend, I made 3 long, somewhat-challenging meals.

Friday: Handmade Sushi (Tuna {Meguro}, Salmon and Yellowtail {Hamachi} rolls. Some spicy, some not, with avocado and cucumber):

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Saturday: Lombardian dishes #13 and #14 (I made #12 for lunch, but didn't get a picture. Basically was a bread stew with egg lol, quite good!): Osso Bucco alla Milanese, with Gremolada as a side:

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And last night: Chicken Pot Pie (from scratch!), though no green peas, as my wife is allergic to them:

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Inside was the typical chicken (NOT boiled beforehand; just did it in the frying pan with 1/2 tbsp. of Olive oil, salt and pepper), corn, carrots, celery (not sure if this is put in traditionally) and potatoes. Plenty left over for lunch for myself and my wife as well :)
 

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Wonderful Mahi... far and away one of my favourite fish to eat (and to catch! A lot of fun!)

When I was in Costa Rica in 2018, we had a quintuple-header (5 fish on at once) of Mahi and I reeled in in 3, my wife 1 and the mate, 1 as well. We caught about 15 that day and released all but 4, for food and bait (pictured below). We forgot some of the fillets on the boat when we left, but the sashimi was damn good :D. This happened in 2019 as well in Mexico, with Yellowfin Tuna! But because they were much bigger/tougher, we didn't reel all 5 in, in about 7 minutes or so, as we did with the Mahi (my wife, in particular, had a really tough time with the Tuna; they fight like monsters).

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As we ate it about 10 minutes after it was caught, it was the freshest fish I have ever eaten. Delicious.

This weekend, I made 3 long, somewhat-challenging meals.

Friday: Handmade Sushi (Tuna {Meguro}, Salmon and Yellowtail {Hamachi} rolls. Some spicy, some not, with avocado and cucumber):

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Saturday: Lombardian dishes #13 and #14 (I made #12 for lunch, but didn't get a picture. was a bread stew with egg lol, quite good!): Osso Bucco alla Milanese, with Gremolada as a side:

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And last night: Chicken Pot Pie (from scratch!), though no green peas, as my wife is allergic to them:

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Inside was the typical chicken (NOT boiled beforehand; just did it in the frying pan with 1/2 tbsp. of Olive oil, salt, and pepper), corn, carrots, celery (not sure if this is put in traditionally), and potatoes. Plenty leftover for lunch for myself and my wife as well :)
I adore Japanese food! I have tried my hand at making sushi with unfortunate results. However, your post has inspired me to try again. A part of me is thinking about eating an all-Japanese diet.
 
Ooooh, an all-Japanese diet would be wonderful... my mouth is salivating! :D

I can honestly say, the three weeks spent in Japan were the best 3 of my life, from a food standpoint; even having Matsuya/Yoshinoya once a day, every day (to cut down on meal costs, as it was so cheap), I looked forward to it so much; it's soooooooo good! And everything, down to their grilled meats and seafood, tempura (fried stuff in general), vegetables, fusions with French/Chinese/etc., Japanese cuisine is quite intricate and incredibly diverse. After Mexican food, it's my favourite cuisine and I'd be in heaven if that was my diet! :D

But yeah, give sushi a shot! Rice is the key and I only learned that after I got the book, "Sushi: a Light and Right Diet," by Asako Kishii (the judge on Iron Chef who judged the most battles). The rice prep is not hard at all, but VERY long (2 1/2- 3 hours between soaking, cooking and preparing) and absolutely worth it; the Japanese select their sushi place according to how the rice is prepared and it really does make a difference.

Keep trying, Tsukuyo, you clearly know your way around the kitchen, so I think you'd be able to make sushi no problem ;).
 
A collection of things from the past week!

Wednesday; decided to eat a bit unhealthily lol, but it was an homage to the British Isles and Ireland, as it was St. Patrick's Day. Cornish Pasties, Sausage Rolls (both purchased and reheated) and Colcannon-Style, Twice-Baked Potatoes (made from scratch):

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On Friday, after a quick shrimp and rice dish (which I didn't photograph), my wife made Zeppole for San Giuseppe (feast of St. Joseph). Well, she mixed everything together, I cooked and whisked both the Pate a Choux and Italian Pastry Cream (which was 75% of the work lol) and then she piped and assembled them, so it was a joint effort :D:

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Back at the end of February, my father and I went ice fishing and we didn't catch anything (as usual), but one of the guys working for the outfit we went with, caught 2 Whitefish and gave us 1! So my dad just did a simple bake of it; I discovered this last year, but my God are caramelized lemons ever SO DELICIOUS:

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And last night, I made Crunchwraps; for those that have never been to Taco Bell, a Crunchwrap is basically a (LARGE) flour tortilla, seasoned ground beef and melted cheese/cheese sauce on the bottom, a tostada on top of that, which has sour cream, shredded lettuce and tomatoes on top of that, which is subsequently folded and you eat it by hand. Far and away my favourite thing to eat there and honestly, one of the healthier things on their menu. We had large tortillas (not as big as the ones Taco Bell uses) in the fridge, so I bought some chicken, shredded a bit of cheese (as it melts when it hits the hot chicken), then added the rest and made some avocado to top. At 2 each, I believe the calorie count for the meal is around 650-700 or so, which isn't bad at all:

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No Lombardian dishes this week, but I'll be doing one or two on the weekend, as well as a grand surprise for Easter weekend ;)
 
So tasty... Quinoa really is a great food as well; I don't make it nearly as often as I should :(

And the use of Turmeric? Perfect, a great health food and I enjoy it quite a bit!
 
With us still repainting the kitchen cabinets (will be done this week, thank God lol) and fixing our backsplash, haven't cooked anything too grandiose, though I did make shrimp tacos on Friday (no pics; I also make it every 3rd week or so, as tacos are my favourite meal on the planet and I LOVE anything Mexican) and I made Lombardian Dish #15 last night, Rusticiada alla Brianza:

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Technically, you're supposed to serve it with the sauce/broth it cooks in, over Polenta, but I neglected to make polenta (again, kitchen space is tight) so just the meat. Pork Tenderloin and Luganega (a type of sausage made in Lombardia), cooked for an hour in broth, with a base of lard, onions and pulverized bits of tomato. Was *so* tasty and I can probably brown the tenderloin even more next time, which would make it even tastier.

Made a cucumber salad on the side, so that we could get a vegetable in with the meal :)
 

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