Best products from r/FoodPorn

You've got most of them down.

1. Clarified Butter or Ghee. It's basically butter with the milk solids removed and lightly cooked so it takes on a nutty flavor. It has a smoke point of 500F so you can cook in 100% butter rather than butter and oil.
   
   
2. If someone is scared of a "pink" inside to their burger: Cook the burger as you would but then throw it into a 350F oven to finish. This is one reason I use cast-iron as I can transfer the pan to the oven. It makes the best medium burger for those afraid to join me at medium-rare.
   
   
3. Grinding your own meat makes an amazing burger. I prefer a VERY course ground patty. The patty is almost flaky and I handle the burger as little as possible to preserve
   
   
4. I make my own mayo for aoili.
   
   
5. I cure my own bacon from pork belly and add thick cut strips to my burgers.
   
   
6. Shallots > Onions
   
   Things you already know:
   Fat is amazing.
   Onions and garlic are amazing (although I prefer them caramelized).
   Paprika adds a "hidden" flavor which rounds out the burger (but I use a dash of smoked paprika as well to add a smoky flavor).
   MSG is awesome.
   
   Things you do that I don't:
   External fat source.
   Whole chilies.
   
   My process:
   
   Get some meat. I like a blend of short rib (umami) and sirloin. Grind.
   
   Mix in fresh ground black pepper (1/2 tsp/pound).
   
   Mince shallots and garlic. Saute shallots in clarified butter until caramelized; briefly saute garlic at the end.
   
   Cook Pork Belly until done (~45 minutes at 400F in oven)
   
   Mix garlic and shallots into previously made mayo being careful to not break the emulsion (adding oil to mayo may make it separate). Add salt and pepper to taste along with paprika or other spices depending on what burger you're going for.
   
   Gently form 1/2 pound patties that are ~3/4 inch thick with a slight dimple in the center so they cook uniformly.
   
   Heat cast iron pan with copious clarified butter until smoking.
   
   Begin warming the buns.
   
   Salt the burgers, toss on some Worcestershire sauce.
   
   Cook burgers until done. Add cheese in last minute.
   
   Spread aoli on buns, go directly from the pan to the bun so juices absorb into bun rather than plate. Add bacon on top.
   
   Let burgers rest for a couple minutes but you should be eating by minute 5 to preserve bun integrity.
   
   
   

Oh, knock it off. Seriously.

I've got a three hundred dollar knife roll that sits in storage while I use my $6 sets of IKEA knives constantly. Run them over a steel every time you use them and they'll last. I've been using these two sets for over four years now. And you can run them in the dishwasher.

Here's a seven quart dutch oven for $40. If you want to save even more, the five quart is $26. It'll do things both on the stove and in the oven. It's a workhorse.

Bamboo/wooden stirring spoons can be had for a few dollars, as can cutting boards.

That's all you really need to start making soup for yourself on the utensil and gear front.

As for the food, well, a bag of onions, one of carrots, and celery will run you under ten bucks. A pack of boneless skinless chicken thighs a couple bucks more. A box of fusili is maybe two bucks if you're splurging. Salt is for cheap, so is pepper, and so is a bottle of oil. You don't even need stock if you're willing to simmer a little longer, but even that's not outrageously expensive. Under two bucks for a quart to make life easier. Good homemade chicken soup is cheap, easy, and a good place to start. It also will store well in the fridge for a few days, and is easy to build on. Got a bag of mixed veg? Toss it in.

Start small with a few strategic purchases, and you can be cooking at home, cheaper than eating out, in no time. You don't need a four gallon stock pot right out of the gate. That one dutch oven can multitask like a champ. I'll cook carnitas in mine, then use it to make beans and sausage, then turn around and make a one pot of chicken, sausage, and vegetables.

Cooking at home is much easier than most people think, and much easier than you just made it out to be. Starting out, you can do wonders with nothing more than salt and pepper, and there's no need to fill a cabinet right away with other stuff. Do it gradually.

Find and follow recipes. Use mise en place to help smooth things out to avoid wasting the stuff you paid for.

Are you going to be a world class chef? No. You probably won't be. Will you be competent enough to feed yourself without relying on take away, and enjoy your food? Yeah, that's not hard.

Just watch Chef John for a few hours. Pick a recipe and follow it. It's not alchemy and voodoo. Stop acting like it is.

I don't have exact numbers to give, since I usually make pasta by hand (since it's all done by eye and feel), but this will get you started.

By the way, this is egg-less pasta. Adding eggs (and how many you add) all depends on what kind of pasta you're making (e.g. fresh pasta, stuffed pasta, lasagna, dried pasta, etc.). It also depends on your preference for the final texture and taste.

You can use eggs with dried pasta, but I like the taste and texture of just semolina and water, maybe some olive oil to give it some elasticity.

If you want to get into making pasta, go buy the Pasta Bible:

http://www.amazon.com/Pasta-Bible-Definitive-Sourcebook-Illustrations/dp/0785819096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309986216&sr=8-1

Anyways, I usually do 1/2 to 1 cup flour per person (and if you're adding eggs, it's 1 egg per person), so here it is:

• 1 cup semolina flour (medium or fine grain)
  
• 3-4 tablespoons water
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (sometimes I add it, sometimes I don't)
  
  (You can use AP flour instead, or 50/50 semolina and flour. I like to use just semolina, and then work in flour when I'm kneeding it).
  
  Anyways, dump the semolina on the counter. Make a well, add the water, and bring the dry semolina from the edges in on the water with a fork or your hands until the dough is pliable and slightly wet. I then put some flour on the counter and kneed until it comes together. Let the dough sit for 30-60 minutes (so the semolina can absorb the water), covered, directly on the counter. You can put it in the fridge to firm it up a bit if you want too. Then either roll it out by hand or use a pasta roller (that's what I use) to get your desired thickness. Cut with an attachment or by hand.
  
  To infuse your pasta, you always mix it with the water and strain (unless you want stuff in the pasta). I forgot to mention, I simmered the basil + water and tomato paste + water at 150 F for about 10 minutes, strained, and cooled it.
  
  The chili oil is simple too. Heat up a cup or so of canola or vegetable oil, add a LOT of red pepper flakes, and let it just sit in a jar. It's great for Asian cooking too.

1. Brine the chicken for at least 4 hours in Buttermilk, koscher salt, and freshly minced garlic.
   
   
2. Make a mixture of corn meal and flour along with your seasonings, I vary it quite a bit and experiment to find what works best for my tastes. (when I'm feeling lazy or don't have much time I use this. It's what I started with and worked out my mix from there.)
   
   
3. In one bowl mix 1/3 cup of coating with 1/2 cup buttermilk, put the remainder of the coating in a second bowl.
   
   
4. Dredge the chicken in the buttermilk/cornmeal mixture, then the cornmeal coating. Don't worry about getting liquid in the dry mix, it will help make the later pieces develop a nice crunchy crust with little nuggets of breading.
   
   
5. Fry at 320°F until Golden Brown and Delicious.
   
   
6. Serve with favorite sauce, though I always recommend fresh lemon juice the citrus really makes it better.
   
   Basically, I took the brine from u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt amazing recipe for Chicken Parm, adapted some of the principles behind the breading and mixed it with my favorite style of breading for fired chicken.

I bought the Black & Decker round Belgian Waffle flip iron for $10 from Macy's (I did get it on black Friday, its about $30 reg price) and I LOVE IT.

I have literally used it every weekend, cooks waffles perfectly. Super easy to clean, very easy to work with all the little lights that let you know when to flip and when it's ready.

If you have a crock pot you can buy a digital thermostat controller to use with it and turn it into a sous vide machine. Basically you fill up the crock pot with water, the device has a little probe you put in the water, and you plug the crock pot into this device, and the device into the wall. You set the temperature and it just switches the crock pot on and off based on the temperature you set. Since crock pots heat up from all directions the temperature stays pretty consistent throughout.

I also have used Ziploc vacuum pump bags with pretty good success. They do leak out some air over the long-term so they don't work as well for freezing things for a long time (still works pretty good though) but they work perfectly fine for sous vide in my experience. Less than $100 investment for the temperature controller, the hand pump and a bunch of extra bags.

From one of my comments in a different post...

Ingredients

• Oxtail (2-3 lbs)<br />

• Short Ribs (1-2 lbs) or Beef bones (1-2 lbs) or Beef Shank (1-2 lbs)
  
• 3-4 Medium Onions
  
• 4 inches of Ginger
  
• 1 large lump of rock sugar (about 1 inch cube)
  
• 1/2 cup salt
  
• 2 Pho Hoa Pho spice bags
  
• Salt and sugar to taste
  
  Directions
  
  

1. Bring small pot of water to boil.<br />

2. Parboil beef for about 1 minute.
   
3. Rinse with cold water and hand clean the meat and bones to wipe away any surface scum.
   
4. Over open flame or under broiler, blacken onions and ginger. No need to peel. Get surface nice and blackened.
   
5. Add beef, onions and ginger, salt, rock sugar and 1 Pho Hoa spice bag to large pot. No idea what size I have.. just the biggest I have.
   
6. Fill pot with water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
   
7. As the water heats up, scum will rise to the surface. Skim it off every 10 minutes for the first hour and then periodically after.
   
8. Don't bring pot to hard boil... should just be a rolling simmer.
   
9. After 8-10 hours the meat should be fall apart tender and the pot should have reduced.
   
10. I turn off the heat and slowly transfer the broth from the cooking pot to a new pot. During the transfer, I run it through a fine strainer (I've used cheese cloth as well) to catch any little particulates. You end up with a very clean broth after this step. Discard the onions and ginger.
    
11. When I get to the bottom, I carefully take the oxtail out and separate the meat from the bones. After all that, you should have a pot of relatively clear and clean broth and a separate container of delicious oxtail ready to add to your pho.
    
12. Bring the pot to just below boil again. Now you will finish your seasoning. Taste the broth... too bland, add some more salt. I also add the 2nd Pho Hoa spice bag.
    
13. Let it simmer for another 20 minutes.
    
14. Prepare your bowls with rice noodles and oxtail and just ladle the broth over it. Garnish with green onions, onions and cilantro and serve.
    
    Note: Need a little more sweet, add a very small lump of sugar at a time. Remember that sipping the broth alone without any noodles in a bowl, you will want it to be a little saltier and sweeter than you would expect. When dip your noodles in the boiling water and drop in your bowl, it will water down the broth slightly.
    
    Note2: My family does not use fish sauce in pho as it adds too much of a funk to long cooking soups/broths like pho. We add it at the table to individual bowls if the diner wants it.
    
    Note3: The Pho Hoa spice bags are the same spices you would use to make pho, but ground up and put into little tea bags. Sure it is better to have all fresh spices, but it's just more convenient to have these little bags in the pantry. This is an amazon link, but go to your local Asian/Vietnamese market. It'll be a lot cheaper there.

Ok just to be really snobby... Old Fashioneds should always be made with one large ice cube. I use something like this but the spherical ice cubes are fun too. If you want to get even fancier, you should use purified water that's been boiled prior to freezing. That way the ice won't be cloudy. Just a friendly tip, cheers and have a merry Christmas.

Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, an amazing book that got me started on breadmaking.

• 1 head of garlic
  
• 3c (1.5lb) lukewarm water
  
• 1 1/2 T yeast
  
• 1 1/2 T salt
  
• 1 1/2 T sugar
  
• 1 mashed potato (book says 1c, but I used one potato.)
  
• 6 1/2 c (2 lb) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
  
• Cornmeal to keep the bottom from sticking
  
  

1. Wrap a head of garlic in foil, roast at 400 F for about 30 minutes. I also baked a potato in foil for about 40 minutes and mashed it, since I didn't have pre-mashed potatoes handy.
   
2. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, potato, and garlic (squeeze it out) and add the water. Use a stand mixer or lots of arm strength, and mix until combined. Don't knead.
   
3. Cover with a cloth and rest at room temperature for about two hours; dough will rise and then flatten.
   
   The dough can be used immediately or refrigerated for up to a week.
   
   When ready to bake:
   
   
4. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and take a 1 lb (grapefruit-sized) lump out. Dust it with more flour, and stretch the sides around to form a ball. Rest on a pizza peel or cutting board dusted with cornmeal for an hour (40 minutes if fresh, unrefrigerated dough.)
   
5. 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 and put a baking stone in the center. Put a broiler pan on a rack underneath the stone.
   
6. Sprinkle the loaf with flour and slash a 1/4 inch deep cross, scallop, or tic-tac-toe pattern in the top to allow for rising.
   
7. Slide the loaf onto the hot stone, and pour hot (or boiling) water into the broiler pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, and try to avoid opening the oven. The top will turn deep brown and the bread will sound hollow when you knock on it. Overcooking is hard to do; you don't want to be undercooked!
   
   Let it cool, and eat! (If you're impatient, like me, the crumb will be pretty moist.)

"OP's submission gives me a bit of cringe, in that this is a shitload of truffle for nearly any dish, although summer truffle is a bit less pungent. This looks like a "hey look at me!" post rather than something delicious on its own."

I could not disagree more with you. It was extremely delicious and very well balanced rather. this isn't my first time eating truffles and i can assure you the truffles did not over powered the rest of the dish.

as for Truffle oil this one isnt bad actually. http://www.amazon.com/Roland-Black-Truffle-3-4-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B001EO7JGO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1375233061&sr=8-7&keywords=truffle+oil it has a real piece of truffle in the bottle and out all the ones i have use before this one gives the more original flavor of truffles, it really isn't bad at all.

In my experience, I've found that following this recipe to the letter yields good results, and although it can be done without it, one of these is basically a necessity. Err on the side of more egg than flour, flour the worksurface nicely, and when you're kneading the dough, knead it like you're trying to make it quantum tunnel through your table. And once you've run it through the cutter and got your first batch of pasta, drape it over a wooden chair, if you have one, or hang it until you're ready to cook all of it.

And jamie's correct about the type of flour you need - tipo 00 or gtfo.

(And since it's a lot of effort to make fresh pasta, a simple and easy sauce is this: Take four tomatoes, fry them in olive oil until they're brown on one side, and then burst them with a wooden spoon. Mix it about, add salt and pepper, and serve with the pasta.)

The do look amazing, the funniest thing is that I looked up the book and on Amazon's website they have the recipe, enjoy!!!

The very best chocolate cake I've ever eaten was first made and presented by my baking bestie. When I fell in love and asked for the recipe, she tossed the container of Hershey's baking cocoa at me. Not only is the recipe LITERALLY on the back, the frosting calls for MELTED butter, so both my sweet tooth and lazy ass are happy!

https://www.amazon.com/HERSHEYS-Cocoa-Natural-Unsweetened-Cacao/dp/B001EQ5AHW

Absolutely, if you are a complete beginner this book is great to start with. As you progress this other book will be a good next step. The salt cured pig blog on Facebook has a ton of info on it for home curing. So I’d start with the first book and go from there, you can hit me up with any questions!

Just a tip, I recently discovered the wonders of sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt. It lets you melt cheese in a saucepan without the cheese separating; it becomes a very smooth sauce that you can then pour over nachos. The best part about it is that it's very easy to make and lets you use whatever kind of cheese you like without resorting to velveeta or cornstarch and evaporated milk, or anything artificial. A big bag of it is $11 on amazon and it lasts forever

Sodium citrate is an emulsifier. I got mine at Amazon.com.

An emulsifier is a agent that can bond two different substances that normally wouldn't bond like oil and water. In this case it bonds cheese and water. People often think it help things melt. That isn't really accurate. In this case it turn cheese and water (or beer or cider or white wine) into a cheese sauce by bonding cheese and water molecules together. Eggs are another emulsifier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2JSiyolnwo

Also if you can find the episode of Good Eats (Episode: EA1D10) Mayo Clinic, Alton Brown explains it really well.

Sweet, here it is if anyones interested: http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Hoc-Home-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579653774

You have pretty much nailed it. Dice potatoes and cook then set them aside. Slice and saute mushrooms, set those aside, crumble some sausage, brown it, add diced onions, sliced peppers and sweat those down, add back the potatoes and the mushrooms, arrange in an even layer on the bottom. Crack eggs on top and cover, cook medium heat until they suit. Alternately cook in a preheated oven after adding the eggs. The spice is a Tex-Mex ground dried pepper mix sold by the Olde Thomson people.

Also, someone introduced me to these lovelies for making sauerkraut with, I would imagine they would also be handy when making kimchi (hopefully I'm allowed to post, if not grab the info and delete my comment): https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01LWS63OF/?coliid=I334PGNMEWURNZ&colid=1O0N3J44KWXW&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Foldable Taco Holder for all your taco creations!

I just bought an Imperia. Hopefully I can add some pictures of the process to http://magnamo.tumblr.com soon.

http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp/B0001IXA0I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341857093&sr=8-1&keywords=imperia

It's a recipe from a book called Ad Hoc:

http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Hoc-Home-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579653774