ITT we post good things we made and a good thing that happened

Muffin recipe: 3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 (1/2 cup) stick butter, softened
finely grated zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
about 1/4 cup of honey
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blueberries

Cream butter and sugar, add wet ingredients. Sift half of your dry, mix, add your blueberries and the other half of dry ingredients until just combined. Bake at 375 for thirty minutes.

This is based off a tweaked Chef John recipe. It's not too sweet which I like, most cafes and bakeries I've been to add way too much sugar. The blueberries were juicy and tart, which went well with the mellow taste of the cake. Suggest eating it with coffee.

Oh I like this thread. I made a stir fry with leftover vegetables I had and I've made some progress on my three (3) papers due this week.

What book OP?

>>8622308
The Iliad. At first I thought that it was a bit derivative, but then I realized I'm a dumbass and most western lit is based off the greeks, not the other way around. Really like it so far.

I was actually thinking of making stir fry tonight, you got any tips? Whenever I make it i can never get that fresh-from-a-cheap-chinese-take-out-place taste (which might be a good thing).

One time I accidentally made some wedding invitations but I made a misprint about the day of the wedding....

They were mad at me but I offered them a muffin

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Made chocolate chips, pretty good especially when hot

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>>8622184
Thanks for the recipe! Those look fantastic. I'm going to recreate your recipe tomorrow with frozen organic blueberries and pic related (the ancient blend on the right).

No kitchen makings today, but I thoroughly cleaned the exterior and festering underbelly of my refrigerator. Interior was rendered spotless last weekend.
Clean cooking areas = happy cooking areas

>>8622497
i don't know if seeds will work in the place of flour, but good luck, let us know if they turn out alright

>>8622497
The seeds are additions, not substitutions~

>>8622537
MIsquote sry >>8622525

>>8622521
Chicken looks incredibly juicy. Slow roast in the oven?

>>8622390
Oh good, that's a great one. I've read it a few times, what compelled you to start? If you like it, obviously read the Odyssey if you haven't already. If you're interested after THAT, go for The Oresteia or Ajax. The Greeks are great.

>tips
Hmm, nothing outside the obvious. They use a lot of oil at those places. Also I put a fair amount of hoison and chili paste in mine.

>>8622487
sometimes I wonder if the milk and cookies combo started as govt propaganda to boost the dairy sector, but then I realize I'm autistic and they're just delicious. Good looking cookies man.

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>>8622551

While chicken roasted in the oven, potatoes roasted underneath before being mashed with butter, cream and garlic, skin always left on. Jerk marinade on the chicken btw.

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>>8622554
>doesn't recommend Lysistrata

>>8622543
haha my bad

>>8622574
I was specifically recommending works that deal with the nostoi of the heroes in the illiad BUT yes, Aristophanes is great too.

>>8622554
In my lit class in college, we've been going over a lot of romantic poetry and I want to start from the beginning to get a better idea of what I'm reading in general, like a bedrock of information to start from. When I read as a kid it was all eclectic, a bit of russians here, some south americans there, french, german, english, just jumping from author to author without appreciating the cultural bases from which they came.

Also I haven't used much chili paste at all when cooking, I'm probably gonna buy some or make my own next time I go grocery shopping.

What a nice thread.

Today I made chilli con carne and I ended up having a conversation with a guy in the swimming pool, he gave me his contact info. This guy might become the first friend I've had in over 10 years.

>>8622604
>romantic poetry
Ah cool. I'm a literature major graduating in a few months and yeah, what you're doing is beneficial for tracing the trajectory of certain styles, motifs, etc. Good on you for that. I took my class on the romantics close to three years ago but I remember liking Byron and Keats the most--i still revisit Keats on occasion. The Lake school is a little tiresome after a bit, though WW is undeniably the most genius of the lot.

>>8622622
>This guy might become the first friend I've had in over 10 years.

Rooting for you, buddy

>>8622604
Make your own always! I love Indian and Thai food but my stomach (and ass) can't handle the spicier spices. So, I've been making my own curries and chili pastes with lots of flavor, and not a lot of burn.

>>8622622
That's a nice story!

>>8622656
Do you have a recipe you mind lending out? I always buy mine but I'd love to make my own

>>8622622
Good luck man, hope it goes well

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I made Korean-style spicy chicken feet. I never had chicken feet before making them today. They're tricky to eat, but they turned out delicious. I'm glad I tried it. On the way back from the store, I found a place in a vacant lot where lilies-of-the-valley grow.

>>8622677
http://pinchofyum.com/easy-homemade-yellow-curry-paste
I like this recipe but the good chef doesn't mention deseeding the chilies for a softer, milder meal. I usually go heavier on turmeric, add 1/8 tsp of cumin and/or 1/8 tsp of hungarian paprika. going crazy on garlic over spice always works, too. it's like adding ingredients that magnify flavor, but without the spice.
I think the easiest base ingredients to manipulate flavor over burn in traditionally spicy meals is the sub pan-roasted diced shallots and garlic to whatever it is.

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>>8622737

Try cocks comb next, they're great.

>>8622737
Chicken feet are super tasty but I always end up using them for augmenting my chicken stock. Stock made with a whack of chicken feet in it is amazing, it has super rich body and gels super well.

Pig feet do the same thing for meat stocks.

>>8622768
I'd have to special-order those. I'll try it SOMEday, but I can't do it on impulse like the feet (my grocery store usually has feet).

>>8622788
Stock would be less work for sure. I've wondered if I should buy into the bone broth meme.

>>8622622
Hope your friendship goes well dude!

>>8622750
Ah you're a saint anon. I'll make this soon.

>>8622799
Good stock is essential to have on hand imo, it really makes a huge difference in a lot of dishes. I usually make ~15L pots at a time (I have a 20L stockpot for this), then keep about 10L as stock and take about 5L and reduce it down to 1L of glace.

For beef stock and sometimes for duck stock I'll make double-strength batches; make one batch of stock, chill it, then use that as the 'water' for making a second batch of stock. Glace made from stock like that is insane, although it does take two full days to make. I'm actually making double strength duck stock across Tuesday and Wednesday this week, since those are my days off.

>>8622622
Good luck man.

>>8622169
I forgot to actually respond to the point of the thread in my earlier post, so:
>didn't really make anything for myself because work
>however, I finally finalized the menu I'm going to do for my gf's birthday next weekend, and can start doing prep through the week
>had a chill shift at work, Sundays I'm on prep for the most part because we're busy as all fuck friday and saturday and we are always in need of some serious catch-up. Got to leave at 6:30pm rather than 2am after service and close like usual.
I love working busy service, but it's nice to have a prep shift once in a while and just do your own thing, crank out the things that need to get done and then fuck off home.

Also, menu for the weekend:
>chilled purple carrot soup (roasted carrot stock poached carrots pureed with some fresh carrot juice) with galangal, black sesame puree, and fresh young coconut
>Pan seared scallops, hazelnut gnocchi, tangerine brown butter, peas
>Slow roast halibut, white wine-mussel liquor glaze, caramelized fennel jam, crispy leek threads, pickled grapes, roasted and shaved raw radishes
>Caramelized milk chocolate marquise, sweet cream ice cream, 'crumble' of seafoam, cacao nibs, and roasted almonds

>>8623063
wow, that all sounds freaking delicious. I only started cooking recently so making something decent takes forever, I'm always amazed at how fast an how well good chefs can cook.

>>8623094

Thanks man, that's always nice to hear.

A lot of it comes down to stuff you learn in a professional kitchen more so than a home one- heavy multitasking (this meal will involve having six or eight components on heat at a time, all of which need to be monitored and worked on), and better knowledge of what can be done ahead and what can't. I'll be spreading some of my prep out over three days or so before, so on the actual day there's nothing left to do but the a la minute stuff. Desserts in particular you can pretty much have all done ahead, and then just assemble/plate up when the time comes. Having a ton of practice at cranking out prep, cooking, and plating as fast as you possibly can doesn't hurt either, then when you do it at home even if you're going at what feels to you like a pretty relaxed pace it's still fast.

>>8623063
Your girlfriend is lucky as fuck.

Where have you worked? Not specifically, but what type of kitchens? Did you go to culinary school?

>>8623259
Yeah I'm actually in culinary school now, and working in a fine dining restaurant as well. It's definitely the nicest place I've ever worked- the kitchen is absolutely brand new, the pace is super fast, the food is really great, and the menu changes fairly often.

That said I spend a lot of my off time cooking too, and usually have a few 'projects' I'll do every week, whether it be bread or making vinegar or dinners like this.

>>8622169
I made some pretty good pasta and caught up with an old friend.

>>8622622
I pray that you mesh like great buddies.

>>8623293
>caught up with an old friend
That is honestly one of the very best feelings ever.

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Seitan egg bahn mi.

I found where all the roaches in my kitchen were nesting and perpetrated genocide on them (in the cardboard backing of a framed poster)

No pics available, but made pan-roasted bronzino and steamed artichokes for the family. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was nice to cook for my parents for the first time.

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Made chicken pot pie today for the first time, came out pretty well. I also made butternut squash Mac n cheese yesterday.

>>8623667
Give us the money shot baby

>>8623667
Is it just regular mac and cheese with squash added? How much?

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>>8623676

>>8623681
I used a whole squash it was about 5 cups, simmered with garlic, milk and chicken broth. Pureed with Greek yogurt and then mixed with cheddar. Add boiled pasta and mix then bake

>>8623759

Looks nice anon, contents didnt completely leak out, looks decently browned

>>8622622
Made my day

>>8623583
Destroying roaches makes the whole world's day better.

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>>8623759
>>8623667
i want it