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Food Thread: Vegetables? Again? We Hate Vegetables!

Yeah, yeah...I know. That's a vegetable.

Grilled Broccolini with lemon and red pepper flakes is damned tasty, and I am not embarrassed to say it!

Its cousin Broccoli is pretty boring on the grill, and its other cousin Broccoli Rabe needs way too much prep for what should be an easy and quick dish. Parboiling and then shocking in ice-water is the only way to go, otherwise Broccoli Rabe can be quite bitter.

But Broccolini is much sweeter, and maybe even more tender, and lends itself quite well to a quick grilling (WHERE WERE YOU ON THE NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER 12TH?).

The one downside is that it can be stupidly expensive, and I don't understand that at all. Maybe one of our farmers can explain?

However, lest you think that I am becoming an effete vegetarian with delusions that I can convince the world of the rightness of my diet...that broccolini was merely an accompaniment to the star of the evening: two very nicely marbled NY Strip steaks from the Washington State department of animal sciences store.

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Yes...I have failed you. I keep threatening to do a taste test of these fake meat products, but every time I look at them in the market I retch and turn away.

Thankfully Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" has once again worked its magic, and it is entirely possible that those vile-sounding and anti-American products will be relegated to the corner health food store, next to the patchouli oil and the vegan cheese.

Beyond Meat in El Segundo cutting workforce by 19% as demand weakens for fake meat

El Segundo's Beyond Meat is cutting 19% of its non-production workforce after a weaker-than-expected third quarter.

The plant-based meat company said Thursday that the reduction of about 65 employees is part of a broader corporate review. The company is also considering exiting some product lines, changing pricing, shifting its manufacturing and restructuring its Chinese operations.

Beyond Meat's shares rose 20% in afternoon trading Thursday.

"We anticipated a modest return to growth in the third quarter of 2023 that did not occur," Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said in a statement.

I am curious why the CEO anticipated growth, when inflation is not abating and the job market is soft. Could it be a bit of wishful thinking?

Oh, I know this will come as a surprise, but Ethan Brown was involved in selling snake oil "alternative energy and electric grid restructuring" before he founded Beyond Meat.

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From a lurker who often sends me fun photos of delicious stuff...

Got a new to me clay stove. I've always wondered about these when I see them used on cooking shows, mostly Asian. So I found this one and decided to grill a couple steaks on it while travelling for work.

About 2 cups of charcoal and it gets hot AF! These steaks were grilled perfectly and had a nice crust and caramelized fat strip, though it would have been better with just two steaks. What fun for a quick meal!

Looks like fun, and small enough to toss in the back of the car! The steaks look good too!

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Do you really need another reason not to drink non-alcoholic "beer?"

Non-alcoholic beer 'breeding ground for bacteria'

The scientists investigated the effects of antimicrobial variables, including storage temperatures, pH, and ethanol concentrations, on common bacterial populations in low- and non-alcoholic beer. They inoculated non-alcoholic beer with five bacterial strains and then monitored bacterial populations across a 63 day period.

The findings suggest low-alcoholic beers prevent pathogen growth, but non-alcoholic beers allow it.

Normal alcoholic beers are normally immune to foodborne pathogens due their properties and production, including ethanol, hops, low sugar and carbon dioxide, and boiling, filtration, refrigeration and cold chain storage.

But lower than 3.5% ABV beers, with lower ethanol concentrations, could be susceptible to bacterial contamination along the production cycle, with concern growing that foodborne pathogen research is currently mainly restricted to traditional higher ABV beers and a lack of data on non-alcoholic products.

I think it's pretty obvious that humans need to avoid non-alcoholic drinks whenever possible.

A few months ago we had guests for dinner, and one did not drink...

I bought a six-pack of non-alcoholic beer, and I think I still have a few in the refrigerator. I'll take a look and see if they are gross and cloudy or have odd things swimming around and trying break the glass....

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I was poking around the meat department of my go-to supermarket when I discovered an interesting package in the pork section. it was a bone-in piece of the pork loin...three ribs worth, that also included the pork belly at the bottom.

See! I'll bet you are salivating already! I sure was when I saw it. And the best part was that it was on sale!

I took it home and cut it into three thick chops, which I of course Sous Vided. [Come on; you knew that was coming.]

Salt, pepper, Rosemary, Thyme, and into the water for four hours at 139 degrees. And for those of you who are Sous-Viders, ignore the internet. Pork does wonderfully with more time, just as long as you don't go nuts and cook it at 145-150 degrees, which is what many cooking sites recommend.

Then out of the water and into an ice bath to chill it down as much as possible before grilling. I do that with everything I Sous Vide, and you should too. I don't really understand why, but it does wonders for texture and flavor.

My go-to with pork chops is a Dijon mustard and honey/agave/brown sugar glaze. One of the three...not all three!

Hot grill...10 minutes...and it was delicious! But you knew that already, because pork belly rarely ruins other foods!

Now I have to convince the butchers to give me an entire rack with the pork belly so I can wow my Thanksgiving guests!

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While I do love well-made kitchen tools, I do not think that they are necessary to make excellent meals. Do they make things easier? Sure...sometimes. But lots of times they just last longer than the cheaper alternative.

For instance, I can do just fine with cheapo knives; I'll just have to sharpen them much more frequently, and they definitely won't last as long. And non-stick pans (which are wonderful for lots of cooking applications) last a good long time if the coatings are thick and properly applied, but they don't cook any better than the cheap crap that starts flaking after a few months of hard use.

But...here is a good example of a kitchen tool that really does help make better food. Roasting pans are vital for cooking that big turkey or roast beef or ham for the coming holidays, and nice heavy ones with robust handles will make your food better.

First of all, using flimsy roasters introduces the possibility that the pan will flex and give and that 18 pound turkey will flip onto the floor where your excited Labrador will gobble about a third of it before you stop cursing.

And that flimsy metal will scorch when you deglaze for gravy, and will cook the bird unevenly.

The 7 Best Roasting Pans of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

On the other hand...$140 for a pan you use a few times a year is sort of painful, so maybe one of the budget versions will work!

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The oyster imperative remains in effect, and send pork rib roasts from the front end of the pig where all the good and fatty meat lives, carrots that don't taste like stalky chalk, garlic...lots of garlic! (and basil! My basil did not do well this year!), well-marbled hanger steaks and elk chops to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

And don't think that the rest of you are off the hook with maple syrup and French Toast: I'm still watching you! And I am watching you perverts who shake Manhattans and keeping a list for the Burning Times.

And yes, I used to demand fancy bourbon, but let's face it, $1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.