mkeller234

Parsley? Nothing wrong. You've got to remember, I am a total novice, so if it's not written down on something, it's not going to be there! I've never had beef and barley soup, so I will take your word for it. That is rice in the soup. The rivels are just dumplings (flour, egg and salt). I think most people make them really small, but my Mom makes them as I did.

I think rivel soup might be a Pennsylvania/Amish/Dutch thing. I'm not positive about that, but considering I am 30 minutes from Amish country, that might explain why you hadn't heard of it.

Gravity Aided

Parsley is supposedly good for your nerves. May be an old wives tale. I used to be the only person who ate mine, because it was only supposed to be a garnish. This was back in the days when there would be that red apple slice with a cherry in it on your plate as well . Now we're talking C&V lunch ! Blue Plate Special, comin right up.
"You eat what you're given-That's democracy, Man..". Graham Greene , Our Man in Havana

noglider 

Parsley will cleanse you if you've been smoking too much weed. Have it with rice and pearl onions.

I made a New Year's resolution for the first time since I was a kid: I'm going to learn to cook better, and I'm going to cook more. My wife doesn't really like to cook much, and her food is often boring. Clearly, I can't ask her to improve her cooking. She likes my cooking, but my repertoire is limited, and I don't cook often enough.

So I'm going to read stuff, and you guys are inspiring to me. I don't know if he mentioned it in this thread, but Colonel J Lloyd went to culinary school, and he is amazing.

mkeller234

Ah! Now it makes sense! Please tell me he went to like 4 other schools so I can explain the rest of my inferiority.

mkeller234

Here is a question then. How do you really pronounce culinary. I only ever hear cul-uh-nary, with the first part sounding like lullaby. Now, I have heard one person (Kelsey Grammer) furiously asserting that everyone says it wrong, that it is cule-uh-cary. Almost like saying mule.

ColonelJLloyd 

That's what I found when I Googled it. Keep some flat leaf (Italian) parsley in your crisper drawer inside a bag with a paper towel. It gets used a lot in my kitchen.

I was never sure of the correct pronunciation either. Apparently both are acceptable. I make an effort to spell and pronounce everything correctly; I'm just like that. But, pronouncing it "kyoo-luh-ner-ee" in my Kentucky accent seems to do both me and the word a disservice.

non-fixie 

No, he didn't, but soon after I started frequenting this forum I noticed he appeared in every thread as soon as food was mentioned. With worthwhile comments, I might add. I seem to remember a discussion on how to cook a duck that made me think of selling a bike or two and get a new grill ....

gaucho777 

Yes, Justin knows his way around the grill! His food-related posts always make me hungry. He also shares my appreciation for Bourbon.

I wish I took pictures of the ribs I made this weekend. Three racks of ribs, smoked three ways (wet, dry rub, and peach/bourbon marinade) for 8 hours. Mmmm...

Here's one of my favorite go-to recipes when I'm trying to impress:

Salmon Florentine

Ingredients

6 SalmonFillets
1/2 Cup Swiss Cheese; shredded
Redwine vinegar

------------------------------Sauce-----------------------------------
4 TablespoonsButter
5 TablespoonsFlour
2 Cups HotMilk
1/3 Cup Cream


2 bag Fresh Spinach
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 TablespoonsButter

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sauce:
In medium sauce pan, whisk the butter and flour over medium heat until they foam and froth for 2 minutes without coloring.
Off heat, beat in hot milk; simmer, stirring for 2 minutes, then beat in the cream.
Season to taste with salt & pepper; beat in half the cheese. Set aside.

In a large skillet, saute spinach with butter and chopped garlic.
Chop spinach and sir into sauce.
(Note: some recipes call for blanching spinach in pot of saltedwater and then squeezing out water and then sautéing and then chopping. I find going straight to sauté works just as well;you avoid the extra water in the dish and one less pan to wash.)

Fillets:
In a large roomy pot, bring 3 to 4 inches of slightly salted water to the boil in a roomy pan; for each quart of water add 3tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
Poach the salmon fillets for 9-10 minutes.
Discard broth.
(Note: After poaching, the fillets will tend to break apart. To avoid this, I lay a large sheet of tin foil across the bottom of the pot before adding water, so that after poaching I can lift the fillets out of the pot easier.)

To assemble:
Butter the bottom of a large baking dish.
Spoon a small layer of the sauce into the baking dish and then lay out the salmon fillets in the dish.
Carefully pour remaining sauce w/ spinach onto the fillets.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Cover with tin foil.

Cooking:
Bake 1 hour in the upper third of oven at 350 degrees.
After 40 minutes, remove tin foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes uncovered until bubbling hot and the sauce is lightly brown on top.

Serves about 6.

*You'll use about every dish in the kitchen, but it's oh so worth it. Great with a green salad and crispy baguette.

non-fixie 

This thread is getting better and better. Thanks guys!

I just spent some time looking op "rivel". The implied Dutch connection intrigued me. But I don't think its origins lay here in Holland, but rather in central Europe. It seems to have a lot in common with spätzle, which you find in the Alpine countries. There's a mouthwatering item on them here in Wikipedia. Gotta have me some of that Apfelspätzle!

mkeller234

Yeah, it's inspiring. I think a big thank you is owed to the moderators for letting us keep this and other non-bike threads going. As much as I love bicycles, I really enjoy these discussions. Lot's of interesting and well rounded individuals here.

mkeller234

I think the comparison to spätzle is probably a good one. I'm not sure what goes into making spätzle, but the result is pretty similar in texture.

Edit: I just looked up how to make spatzle and it is very, very similar. You could probably call it beef and spatzle soup

spacemanz

I recently got on an Asian food kick (but it's been ongoing for awhile), and last night I had some frozen crab dumplings that were really awesome. Today was the total opposite though, I made some Chow Mein noodles, and overcooked them, I guess, and it turned into a giant gob of something. It looks kinda glue-ish, but if I make myself ignore the looks, it actually tastes, ...well, like glue.

Italuminium

^ after half a year in Asia I got to sample so many new tastes and smells, amazing. I noted that the "asian" food here in the west is often a lot more salted and less spicy than the real deal. Definitely changed my cooking habits.

paulkal

I agree, I also spend some time in Asia. The real Asian food is so much better than the Asian food here in Holland.
However, it did not change my cooking habits, I married a Japanese woman, so I mostly eat Japanese food now.

Italuminium

I'm really looking forward to go to Japan and try the local specialties, definitely my next big travel goal. I had a real fun time to explain my Indonesian friends our Chin. Ind. Sur. Restaurants - probably the most wild and widespread example of fusion cooking "before it was cool".

ColonelJLloyd 

I've also been on an Asian kick lately. I recently made dashi for the first time and subsequently some udon miso soup.

I've also been making stir frys with jasmine rice and various other stuff in sort of a stir fry meets bibimbop dish which is freakin' awesome.

rootboy 

I'm lucky in this regard. Married to a Chinese woman and as is the Chinese way, her parents live with us. My wife is an OK cook, but I'm better. But her father, though he doesn't cook anymore, is amazing. My mother-in-law is very good too but you guys wouldn't recognize most of it. True northern Chinese cooking. It bears no resemblance to anything found in your typical Chinese restaurant, which is usually based on Southern cuisine. I can't say I'm universally fond of all of it, lots of strange stuff, but I can't complain. We eat very well. Healthy, un-processed foods and lots of vegetables. All that said, I still like my Rib eye with mashed potatoes too. Potatoes are comfort food for me.

Chris_in_Miami

Spotted these at the market the other day:



Haven't got the nerve to buy one yet, I could blow through a big chunk of cash trying to figure out how to cook them...

ColonelJLloyd 

I'll eat just about anything, but that may be a bit phallic for me to give it a try. I mean, that's sort of disturbing.

Chris_in_Miami

Oh yeah, it's not for everyone, but there are worse things at that seafood counter...

westyat7000

This is very close to being the best thead on BF. I love exploring food, many thanks to all of the contributors to the thread.

After clicking on the Spatzle link yesterday, I was inspired to dust of my Spatzle maker and make Spinatspatzeln for lunch today. A little bit of cabbage on top, and some charcuterie on the side.

ColonelJLloyd 

Well done!

mkeller234

Chris, you just murdered my appetite.

I made sweet potato fries tonight that tasted really good. I've never eaten sweet potatoes before, don't know why, they are GOOD!

gomango

I married into a Bavarian family 27 years ago.

Been eating very well ever since then.

Man, that looks great.

non-fixie 

Yes it is. Let's indeed be grateful for that. But just to be on the safe side: here's a lunch picture with a couple of food-related bikes in it. A large transport bike, a "bakfiets", in this case designed for a herring merchant:



In the background a more standard delivery bike, as used by butcher boys for their daily deliveries. And they raced them too: