The Audio Engineer Chef's Thread

[waitup]

Are any of you sound dorks closet culinary geniuses? Or do you heat up 2 minute noodles in the studio microwave? You DIY guys DIY yer food too? Post yer signature dishes up and help the non-cooking audio nerds in the house impress the missus with a new-found talent in the kitchen.

My current specialty: Spicy Chinese Soup With Fried Pork Balls, Noodles and Bok Choy
Awesome because you can knock it up in no time but it looks like you've worked quite hard

This makes enough for 2-3 people, depending how hungry y'all is!
If the noodles of your choice need to be soaked before use, get them into the water first
Soak 1 or 2 slices of whatever bread you've got in the kitchen in water for a minute and drain.
Put 400-500 grams minced pork in a silver (or any really) bowl with the wet bread and 3-4 tablespoons of oyster sauce.
Get your hands in there and mush it all up. If it's too liquid add some flour or cornflour.
Roll into 3-4cm balls.
Fry outside of balls in a hot pan to seal and set aside.
Chop an onion, a fresh chili or two and two or 3 cloves of garlic finely.
Grate a knob of ginger and slice some lemongrass (or kaffir lime leaves).
Fry onion, chili, garlic, ginger and lemongrass in the bottom of a big pot until the onions are soft and a little browned. Careful not to burn yer garlic.
Put 3 or 4 cups of chicken stock in on top.
Add your pork balls and noodles and then splash in a couple of teaspoons of fish sauce, juice of half a small lemon and a few tablespoons of soy sauce.
let it simmer away for 20 minutes or so.
Grab one of your pork balls open and cut it open to check it's cooked all the way through.
Eat said pork ball if cooked and marvel at your genius.
If the pork balls are cooked, throw in the leaves of 2 or 3 decent sized bok choy and cook for 3 minutes. Don't let the bok choy sit in it for two long because it will go brown and wilted and gross.
Serve in ya nicest bowls with some chopped coriander on top, and if you can get your hands on it some dried fried shallots from a chinese grocer.

Wicked, and it cost you like 10 bucks!

bring em on,

Nick.

[walding]

Opens packet of iced vo vo's and munches away, tis all the audio engineer ever eats

[Chris H]

Luv cooking but i've been too busy mixing............... it's 2 30 AM and i've just finished a rather large and challenging project.......

[stosostu]

Chicken Cacciatore:

1 cup white rice
500gms fresh tomatoes (preferrably Roma), finely diced (Cheats use tinned)
I red and 1 green capsicum cut into thin strips
250gms mushrooms, finely sliced
500gms skinless chicken breast cut into strips about 5mm wide

Boil the rice in salted water until aldente, strain and rinse with boiling water.

Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and place in the chicken strips. These will cook quickly so be careful.
Add diced tomatoes, mushrooms and capsicum. These are basically only heated rather than cooked.
Serve the chicken cacciatore over piles of white rice.
Dress with a sprig of fresh parsley.

Apart from the rice, the whole thing takes less than 5 minutes to cook.

[headman]

Beef and Guinness Pies

I Kilo Rump Steak, cubed
2 Onions, finely chopped
1 Carrot, finely chopped
Knob of butter and some oil
1 tablespoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 can Guinness
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespooens plain flour
3 sheets Frozen Puff Pastry

Brown off steak, onion and carrot in oven proof casserole dish with butter and oil, add Guinness, Worcestershire, tomatoes paste and flour and place in oven for 1.50 hrs @ 210 Celsius, stirring once. Remove from oven and make pies using large muffin tray and Puff pastry (or just one large pie tin). Bake pies for 30 mins, serve with mushy peas and mashed potato.

Delicious!

[Sammas]

Luv cooking but i've been too busy mixing............... it's 2 30 AM and i've just finished a rather large and challenging project.......

Peanut butter on celery.

[Dr Benway]

It is a little too late in the Winter season for this recipe but It's well worth the effort to make it.
While I can't take credit for this particular recipe (it's from Matthew Evans book, 'The Real Food Companion' It's a bloody fantastic book too by the way..) I have made some slight changes to it.. Very slight in fact but changes none the less..

Right. Here's what you'll need to make it..

200g of dried cannellini beans.
2 brown onions.
2 - 4 cloves of garlic. (depends on how much you like it I guess??)
1 - 2 sprigs of fresh sage.
Beer, red or white wine for your consumption.
500g of speck.. (This is where it's at.. Get you're butcher to order it in as they probably won't have any in stock. Good butchers will though.) Cut the speck into 2-3cm, bite sized chunks.. Nice..
400g of tinned, chopped tomatoes.
2 table spoons of treacle.
A large saucepan and a large casserole dish or even better than the casserole, a cast iron pot. Just make sure either has a lid.
Thats enough for about 5 or 6 meals.. It'll keep for a few days in the fridge too so there'll be left overs a plenty!!

Now here's how you'll need to make it..

Soak the beans in cold water over night in a bowl.. They will swell up a bit but not too much. I glad wrap the bowl and put it in the fridge.
Once the beans are ready the next day, have a drink to settle the nerves then rinse them, drain well, then set aside.
Peel and cut 1 of the onions into quarters.
Put the beans, the quartered onion, the garlic and the sage into a large saucepan. One big enough to take enough water to cover the beans by about 2cm.. Have a glass of wine to ward off cold.
Once they're covered with water, boil and reduce to a simmer for about an hour. I stir for most of this but thats just because I don't want the beans to scorch on the bottom of the pan. It might take less than an hour but not really any more. The beans should be soft but not quite cooked. I repeat.. NOT QUITE COOKED. Bring them out early if you have to.
I'd pre heat the oven to about 150 degrees at this point too.
Now, while the beans are in the saucepan simmering away, peel and dice the other onion and place in the casserole dish along with the cubed speck, tomatoes and treacle.
Once the beans are done but NOT QUITE COOKED in the simmering sage, garlic and onion concoction, drain the beans and pick out the sage, onion and garlic. It doesn't matter if some of these bits make it through but get the majority out of the beans. Once they're drained, throw them in the casserole dish and give it a bit of a stir around. Pour in just enough water to wet the beans (about half way up or a fraction more is good) Cover with the lid and chuck it in the 150 degree oven for around 3 hours.. Have another drink.
Monitor your beans from time to time and make sure that they aren't boiling too rapidly. Turn the oven down if they are to even as low as 120 degrees. If it looks really dry then top up with a little more water but you shouldn't need to.. Have a taste at around the 3 hour mark and the beans should be cooked. (you can leave them in there longer too if you like just make sure the oven is on really low) Once done they'll be soft and taste like.. Well baked beans I suppose. Pull all of the speck you can find to the top of the beans and crank the oven to 180 degrees. Leave the lid off and bake for another 30 or so minutes to darken and caramelize the speck. Thats it.. Done..
Don't eat prior to any time booked in the studio.. You'll stink I can assure you!!
Enjoy.

[rick]

well i have been making my own home cured smoked bacon for some time


buy a pork belly
rub in a mixture of 1/3 salt 2/3 brown sugar rub it over the belly in an unscientific amount
the trick is not to much salt
put it in a vacuum sealed bag in the fridge for 7 days

take it out drain off the goo

put a log of hardwood in the bbq with only one burner on low under the log
put the belly in the other end of the bbq

close the lld and let it smoke for an hour (do it at night or your neighbors will think the house is alight )

take it out put it and in fresh vac pac bag (otherwise you will stink out the fridge with smoke smells )

its best if its left 1-2 weeks to cure after that but you can certainly eat it the next day

serve it to your family and friends only dont waste it on people you dont like much

it works out twice the price of franklins bacon and about the same price as deli stuff
15-18 bucks for 2 kg

and taste 68 times better the the slimy salty chemical shit posing as bacon in your supermarket and its got to be better for you as well


i add all the off cuts into soups and omlettes

all up its 5 mins work over 2 weeks

hell i am going to eat some for dinner right now !

[waitup]

I was hoping you'd post about the famous bacon, rick. I'm a bloody mind reader!

[mavdime]

This is one of my favourites... not exactly super quick, but well worth it.... Greek Lamb with Smashed potatoes and Bread Salad

Main:

1/2 rack of lamb (a good butcher will trim the fat off it for you)
2 clove garlic, crushed
1 lemon
Good Olive Oil
1/2 cup rosemary, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Coriander
as many Chat potatoes as you want
some Spanish Olives, pitted
some fresh Roma tomatoes, quartered

1. Marinate Lamb Rack in large mixing bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, garlic, cumin, corriander powder, rosemary and give a generous squeeze of lemon
2. Put chat potatoes to boil in salted water
3. Seal Lamb in Griddle pan for a few minutes each side until sealed... remove and leave to rest
4. drain potatoes, put on a chopping board and smash gently with a potato masher so potatoes still stay together
5. Get a largish baking tray. Drizzle bottom with olive oil. place smashed potatoes to cover bottom of tray. place as many olives and quartered tomatoes as you'd like on top of this. Finally place Lamb rack on this, then put tray in over at 180 degrees for 45 minutes

Salad:
Snow Peas, washed, de-stringed and sliced in half diagonally
Goat's Fetta
Pita Bread
2 teaspoons sumac
1 small red onion, sliced thinly

1. Brush pita bread generously with olive oil, spinkle with sumac. Place pita bread in oven bottom tray
2. Place sliced snow peas and onion in mixing bowl. Grab handful of Goat's fetta and tear over the peas and onion.
3. When the pita bread is crispy and awesome, grab the piece (s) of bread and break over the bowl.
3. Dress with a little bit of lemon juice, salt and oil and stir through

By this time your lamb should be ready. Serve crispy smashed potates, roasted tomatoes and olives and tasty lamb bits on plate with a side of the bread salad. If you feel like it make some tzaisiki on the side.

Eat. Enjoy. Drink some Wine. Eat some more. When you are done, leave all the mess you have left in the kitchen where it is and go back to doing some mixing you bum... you can always clean the kitchen tommorrow

[Ben M]

http://mariobatalivoice.blogspot.com.au/

The link is Steve Albini's cooking blog. Some nice recipes...and some not so nice. Well worth a look.

I thought I'd try the "Agnolotti of Leeks, Kale and Magic Nuts" tonight (maybe replace the Kale with some sage).
Next week I might do "Sushi Ninjas are Bullshit".... or "f@#$ it, I'm Fixing a Steak"

[GlennS]

The thai turkey mince recipe I found here: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19130/t ... +with+rice is a winner. Cheapy & easy to make, healthy & tastes great. Perfect summer dish for the discerning audio engineer.

[jkhuri44]

www.vahrehvah.com

cook any recipe there with a video or written up by author "admin"....win, every time.

[Manning]

I spent time in southern Texas and learned a lot of Mexican cuisine, plus I spent a year working in Malaysia and Thailand and another year living in Ahndra Pradesh in India. Then I married a Turk.

So as soon as I get a chance I'll write up some of my Thai-Mex-Ind-Turk concoctions. I do a mean Beyti Kebap in a corn tortilla with a Pradeshi curry and dried fish.

[waitup]

Nice one Manning. Get some Malaysian ones up here... I can't get enough!

[The Tasmanian]

This is a really good post - bring them on - especially the non AU US UK crap....
Come on Manning - I'm hungry.....

[jkhuri44]

FAILSAFE SALMON STEAKS:

Seriously, you'll never have salmon steaks better than this...imo.

Buy as many salmon steaks as required for you and friends...or you and lady, or you and dog.
Stick in container.
Shitloads of white wine, and a few tablespoons of soy sauce to taste.
Add olive oil.
Cracked blackpepper.
and granulated garlic (tastes better than fresh for this).

Preheat grill (preferably preseasoned by your last BBQ session, and just scrape the thing down).

Grill steaks on medium or low heat for 5 minutes.

Open the grill, and baste the steaks with preprepared sauce of redwine vinegar/japanese mayonaise, salt, and white pepper. Just enough to make the steaks look whiteish.

Close grill, and continue cooking for 7-10 minutes depending on your tastes...

Result = good shit.

[jkhuri44]

^ serve above with Gai-lan (chinese brocolli) and steamed jasmine rice.

[heathen]

I cook a great steak. Got lots of herbs growing in the garden, also bunch of different peppers growing. no more dodgy packet sauces in this place. I now make my own depending on what the is required for each differnt dish. Just need a curry tree.

Though here's my latest Thai Chilli sauce.

50/50 white vinegar and honey, or however to taste.
Several FRESH cillies chopped, not too fine. (Jalapeno for mild, cayenne for hot, habanero's for masochists).
Thai basil fresh.
Chives chopped.
Corriander and or corriander seeds chopped/crushed.
Half a Kaffir lime leaf, chopped as fine as you can.

Put in bowl all together and stick in the microwave and blast it till it's bubbling (have to watch this part), let cool 2 mins and repeat twice.. Put in freezer for 30 mins, ready to go.

Awesome sauce, (may cause ring sting following day). Thought I better add that warning.

[heathen]

^ serve above with Gai-lan (chinese brocolli) and steamed jasmine rice.

i've got a mate called Galen.

[Gillian Lee]

Oh man! Food! It's delicious, that's what.
Beef and Guinness pie! Baked beans! I'm going to the grocer tomorrow. +1 on that Matthew Evans book too!

Here's a Malaysian Fish Curry that's pretty rad:

2 Tbsp veg oil
1+ 2/3 cups coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream
4 snapper fillets
1/3 cup toasted flaked coconut
4 kaffir lime leaves

PASTE:
4 shallots
50g piece of galagal
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup smashed peanuts (or peanut butter)
2 tbsp lime juice
2 cloves crushed garlic
4 fresh small chillies
1 tsp caster sugar
grated ginger

COOK:
1. Blend/process spice paste
2. Fry spice paste until fragrant. Add coconut liquids, simmer for 15mins
3. Poach fish in curry sauce until cooked (about 7 mins average)
4. Serve with rice!

[The Tasmanian]

Anyone got any good veg recipe's for those who don't buy the government and vested industry lobbyists relentless campaign that the best way to get protein and calcium is from eating meat and diary?
Veg curries anyone?

[GlennS]

Anyone got any good veg recipe's for those who don't buy the government and vested industry lobbyists relentless campaign that the best way to get protein and calcium is from eating meat and diary?
Veg curries anyone?

Chris, if you don't want to eat meat you could do what all of my Greek relatives do and eat lamb instead.

[jkhuri44]

^ chris, check out that link i posted above:

www.vahrehvah.com

best indian shizz on the web i've seen so far, and also Utube videos!

[Alistair]

Anyone got any good veg recipe's for those who don't buy the government and vested industry lobbyists relentless campaign that the best way to get protein and calcium is from eating meat and diary?
Veg curries anyone?

Your suggesting Sam Neil has gotten a bit annoying?

As a vego for 17 or so years now, I've got a few recipes. Will post em up when I've got time.

[jkhuri44]

one of my Fav vego dishes...really easy to make, gets rid of left over white rice:

Stick sesame oil in a pot, throw in some cubed hard tofusome kimchi, throw in some miso paste and some dashi, add some spring onions if you want, stir around heaps, when the kimchi starts to bubble a bit, chuck in the rice, fry till the rice gets hot and slightly brown...and add any chinese green you like to the dish as well, stir stir stir.

sprinkle with sesame seeds, and toasted seawead to finish.

can make this in less than 5 minutes, its awesome.

[The Tasmanian]

Jamil - I did just that- that is a awesome website - bookmarked already - thanks
Sam Niel - he's annoying whatever he does! - Alistair please post some veg one's up
I'm not strictly veg - but find that there are not enough killer veg recipe's to fill the majority of nights where I don't want to do eat what the government lobbyists tells me is healthy or best way for me to eat - just to keep an industry propped up.

[jkhuri44]

indian diets, have a lot of the best vegetarian food.

Between eggs, yoghurt, and comprehensive pulse ingredients, it's pretty killer for veg.

if you add dried maldive fish, sri lankan food is insane too.

[The Tasmanian]

Jamil - got any fave Sri Lankan ones ?

[waitup]

Anyone successfully doing DIY Roti bread at home?