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re: Cuisines/Meals that are not economically justifiable to cook yourself
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:10 am to Tigertown in ATL
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:10 am to Tigertown in ATL
Seafood gumbo
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:16 am to AlxTgr
quote:
Speaking of, I cannot find cardomom or tamarind. Should I care? My Massaman comes out great, but I wonder if I'm missing something.
Yes, you should care. Those are two really distinct flavors. Ground cardamom is fine as long as you use it quickly & should be in any walmart with a McCormick spice array. It's good for baked stuff too, as it is very finely ground.
I prefer the whole pods, as I use them in lots of other dishes (chai, biryani, lentils, etc). Tamarind pods are a PITA to me, so I'm lazy and buy the paste in a jar. Whole Foods carries it, so does any asian grocery store. I think the brand I buy is called Neela's.
A core of basic spices from your favorite cuisines is a good investment....spread out over many meals, the cost is tiny. Dunno why people will spring big bucks for hunks of red meat but skimp on the spices. Can't cook without flava...
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:27 am to hungryone
I think the paste I use contains some tamarind. Can't say for sure.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:45 am to Tigertown in ATL
Not sure about cuisines, but I don't mess with foie at home because it's too expensive to buy retail.
Mole is another thing I would never attempt.
Pizza I find to be expensive because when I make it at home I want to use the Buffalo Mozarella, tipo 00 flour, and high end salamis. Otherwise it is just much easier to go to a place that does neapolitan pies and if they burn it, I don't eat the cost.
Mole is another thing I would never attempt.
Pizza I find to be expensive because when I make it at home I want to use the Buffalo Mozarella, tipo 00 flour, and high end salamis. Otherwise it is just much easier to go to a place that does neapolitan pies and if they burn it, I don't eat the cost.
This post was edited on 1/27/16 at 10:52 am
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:57 am to Tigertown in ATL
i make ramen at home (shoyu and tonkontsu) and it takes all of 8 hours and a lot of cash.
also, live crabs have gotten ridiculously expensive the last few years. used to buy crabs $35/bushel all day long only 3-4 years ago. luck to pay $75 now.
also, live crabs have gotten ridiculously expensive the last few years. used to buy crabs $35/bushel all day long only 3-4 years ago. luck to pay $75 now.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 10:59 am to Honky Lips
Anything fried for me unless you are reusing the oil.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 11:13 am to RedHawk
Here's a tip for homemade pizza makers. Go to the salad bar / hot bar at Whole Foods and get a "salad" made up of the pizza toppings you want, and then get a ball of dough for $1.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 11:20 am to Fat Harry
quote:
Here's a tip for homemade pizza makers. Go to the salad bar / hot bar at Whole Foods and get a "salad" made up of the pizza toppings you want, and then get a ball of dough for $1.
Damn that's a good idea
Posted on 1/27/16 at 11:36 am to Tigertown in ATL
Lasagna can be super expensive.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 11:36 am to AlxTgr
quote:
I think the paste I use contains some tamarind. Can't say for sure.
It's a distinct, sour, delicious flavor...it is in Lea & Perrins worcestershire sauce, in Pickapeppa sauce, and a whole bunch of Indian, Middle Eastern, and SE Asian dishes.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 11:46 am to NOFOX
quote:
Pizza I find to be expensive because when I make it at home I want to use the Buffalo Mozarella, tipo 00 flour, and high end salamis.
I would never waste bufala on a pizza (too wet for my taste)...fiori di latte is good enough and is certainly allowed in the VPN standard.
My crust is excellent using good ol american AP flour--the mystique around Caputo doppio zero is overblown. Aging an AP dough 2-3 days will yield a crust just as extensible as using 00, in my experience. Besides, unless you're actually using a low-dome, wood-fired pizza oven and cooking the pie in 90 secs, the AP is a better choice for a crust in a home oven (at least for my 2-3 minute pies on a baking steel under the gas broiler).
Now, I agree 100% about buying good dry cured meats....
Posted on 1/27/16 at 11:57 am to Fat Harry
The dough is $3.00 but it is a good dough and on my green egg pizza stone I can make 2 pizzas out of 1 dough.
I make pho from time to time and as said it is time consuming to make the stock but I make a couple gallons at a time and it freezes well. The Hong Kong grocery on Sherwood has Pho stock base which can really cut the time down.
But I'm an enthusiast so nothing really is out of the ordinary to cook from time to time.
I make pho from time to time and as said it is time consuming to make the stock but I make a couple gallons at a time and it freezes well. The Hong Kong grocery on Sherwood has Pho stock base which can really cut the time down.
But I'm an enthusiast so nothing really is out of the ordinary to cook from time to time.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 12:51 pm to Fat Harry
That is actually really smart. Thanks
Posted on 1/27/16 at 1:17 pm to hungryone
quote:
Besides, unless you're actually using a low-dome, wood-fired pizza oven and cooking the pie in 90 secs, the AP is a better choice for a crust in a home oven (at least for my 2-3 minute pies on a baking steel under the gas broiler).
I will cook on the egg with a pizza stone on top and bottom (need to replace with baking steels, but I don't do it enough). Try to get it to 900, but can get tricky. I use bufallo mozarella when I have fresh tomatoes on hand instead of sauce.
If I coud eat pizza enough to get really good at doing it, then I would use lesser ingredients and it would be cost effective (time & money) to do it at home. But I would be 30 lbs heavier by the time I could put out a pie as good as certain restaurants and it's not like they charge $30/pie.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 2:30 pm to NOFOX
For pizza, I buy Stanislaus sauce by the #10 can; it's what they use at my favorite pizza restaurant here and when I pop open the can I freeze 2-3 pizza portions in quart freezer bags. I usually get 8-9 bags of sauce, which makes the bags about $.80 each, or about $.30/pizza. I use that and whole milk mozzarella that I can get pretty cheap around here, and Lahey's dough recipe and have a pizza made for around $4 I'm guessing once I put some ham or bacon on it.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 3:04 pm to Tigertown in ATL
2nd Sushi
Lots of ingredients and unless you plan on making 100 rolls, you will likely have plenty of wasted stuff.
Lots of ingredients and unless you plan on making 100 rolls, you will likely have plenty of wasted stuff.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 3:34 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
Speaking of, I cannot find cardomom or tamarind
Do you live in Baton Rouge? If you do, go to Red Stick Spice Company. I can't recommend that place enough. They'll sell you spices in just the quantity you need for a recipe. (I've gone in and bought quarter teaspoons of some spices). And it costs practically nothing to buy a teaspoon of cardomom.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 3:41 pm to timbo
Like my pizza answer, most of the items in the thread are ok after a certain quantity
If I want pizza, I want a lot of stuff on it and if I'm making 1 or 2 pizzas, I end up with a lot of leftover stuff which may or may not be used before expiration
My other entry for the thread will be boiled crawfish
Again, if you're doing a few sacks, it's cost effective but if you want 20 lbs of crawfish, the markets usually charge $1 more for boiled, so you'd have to get all of your seasonings and what not for $20. Of course it can be done, but you aren't saving much at all by boiling your own crawfish...but that's not why most people do it anyway.
If I want pizza, I want a lot of stuff on it and if I'm making 1 or 2 pizzas, I end up with a lot of leftover stuff which may or may not be used before expiration
My other entry for the thread will be boiled crawfish
Again, if you're doing a few sacks, it's cost effective but if you want 20 lbs of crawfish, the markets usually charge $1 more for boiled, so you'd have to get all of your seasonings and what not for $20. Of course it can be done, but you aren't saving much at all by boiling your own crawfish...but that's not why most people do it anyway.
Posted on 1/27/16 at 3:55 pm to LouisianaLady
quote:
cooking is expensive because you often need to buy every single ingredient in a recipe
I don't really do recipes (I use them as a guide more than a hardfast rule) so I just buy whatever meat is on sale and base my meal plans off of that. GF and I can eat for ~$100-150 for two weeks when we do that. Buy bulk grains from costco, and go get veggies once or twice a week. Over time you still build a huge stockpile of spices from various cuisines so it still becomes even cheaper.
Much more economically sound than planning out your meals by recipe and going out and buying every single ingredient you'd need.
This post was edited on 1/27/16 at 3:58 pm
Posted on 1/27/16 at 4:01 pm to Hulkklogan
Edit. I misread your post.
You basically agreed with what I posted and I missed that . Unless you are into basic cooked meat and veggies, it will inevitably be expensive when you are first starting off regular cooking simply because you'll need the staples that you probably aren't already keeping on hand. When I first started cooking at home, I had to go buy things like oil, butter, flour, eggs, capers, horseradish, wine, etc. every time I cooked. Like you said, over time you build up a stock in the weirder things like specific spices, but it definitely requires money in the beginning. (For example, if all you have is Tony's, salt, and pepper.. you are going to either have some boring food or you're going to have to buy parsley, basil, garlic powder, etc. at some point).
Jones explained it way better than me on the next page.
You basically agreed with what I posted and I missed that . Unless you are into basic cooked meat and veggies, it will inevitably be expensive when you are first starting off regular cooking simply because you'll need the staples that you probably aren't already keeping on hand. When I first started cooking at home, I had to go buy things like oil, butter, flour, eggs, capers, horseradish, wine, etc. every time I cooked. Like you said, over time you build up a stock in the weirder things like specific spices, but it definitely requires money in the beginning. (For example, if all you have is Tony's, salt, and pepper.. you are going to either have some boring food or you're going to have to buy parsley, basil, garlic powder, etc. at some point).
Jones explained it way better than me on the next page.
This post was edited on 1/27/16 at 4:12 pm
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