OT: Cooking at Home

I will rarely order a steak when I'm out because I've yet to have one better than off of my own grill.

I do a lot of cooking at home and it’s true the right ingredients make all of the difference better quality than most restaurants, but there are some dining experiences that you can’t replicate at home,

^ I used to love my steak grilled as well and still do when it is an inch or less thick. But I've become a convert to how some professional chefs in fine dining restaurants cook very thick bone-in steaks.

I sear it for a couple of minutes on very high heat in a cast iron in a little oil and butter. Then I flip the steak, give it a quick spoon basting in the oil/butter/juice mixture in the pan and then move the cast iron into the oven at 400 for about 10 or so minutes. It helps to pull it out after 5, take the internal temp with a meat thermometer and also check to see if you need to flip it again if the bottom is getting too crisp.

The result is a steak with that nice crunchy outside and buttery soft meat inside. The problem with a grill, at least for me, is the loss of so much good fatty juices for my steak to finish in.

If you’re looking to cook a steak like a good steakhouse 400 degrees isn’t enough to get the job done, a steak cooked in a good restaurant like Berns or Peter Lugers uses an ovens with the ability to sear and broil at temperatures of 700 to over 1000 degrees

I think it's gotten worse as of late due to the lack of employees/qualified-employees - in some restaurants they'll either hire anyone to work the kitchen, or sometimes have servers working-it.

A big part of the reason I eat out is convenience (I live alone and don't wanna fo thru the effort of cooking an elaborate meal with multiple sides just for me).

===> "I do a lot of cooking at home and it’s true the right ingredients make all of the difference better quality than most restaurants, but there are some dining experiences that you can’t replicate at home"

Agree 100% that some dining experiences cannot be replicated at home, especially those requiring specialized equipment. For example, most home cooks can't replicate the searing process used by places like Capital Grill because we cannot achieve the temps they sear at. Also most home cooks don't have equipment like blast chillers, salamanders, wood fired ovens and other specialty equipment which allows high end and other specialty restaurants to do certain things that are difficult to replicate at home.

But as we also know it's a very tiny percentage of restaurants that offer those special dining experiences.

===> "If you’re looking to cook a steak like a good steakhouse 400 degrees isn’t enough to get the job done, a steak cooked in a good restaurant like Berns or Peter Lugers uses an ovens with the ability to sear and broil at temperatures of 700 to over 1000 degrees"

With the recipe I provided, you're only finishing the steak in the over after a basted pan sear. And some of the highest end steakhouses actually sear at up to 1500 degrees.

^ there are some things that I enjoy about going out to a good restaurant that has good service, another thing I enjoy is the experience of dining in a classic location such as a restaurant on a waterfront overlooking the beach or a place with an unusual location, like there’s one here in south Florida where a home that belonged to Addison Mizner was converted into a very nice restaurant there are places in the mountains where they have made a restaurant in a destination that’s unique think about the Builtmore in South Carolina ore the restaurant in Central Park, but I’m not disputing that cooking is a great skill to have.

^ 25, I don't disagree that there are some great restaurant experiences out there.

For me one of my great pleasures is visiting a high end steakhouse. Not only is the meat superior to anything we can get ourselves, but as we discussed, they can do things that we can't. I also love ordering scalloped potatoes at those places because they are labor-intensive bitch to make at home.

Then there are the old school pizzeria's that use wood fired ovens. When the dough, sauce, cheese and toppings are good, that crunch that the wood fire gives it just makes it all come together.

And what I wouldn't give to enjoy a good meal at a classic French restaurant again. The best we have around here sucks in comparison to those I used to visit in the northeast. No touch is missed, from the baked in house bread to the sumptuous flavors of much of the cuisine, including their knowledge and use of different cheeses.

Finally, while my red sauce is better than any I've found in any Italian restaurant around here (immodestly stated I will admit), I do miss some of the wonderful pasta dishes I used to enjoy in Boston's North End and a few spots in NYC. Not only were the pasta and bread freshly made in-house, but the sauces had a delicious complexity that started with excellently sourced ingredients - again likely better than we could source ourselves in retail stores.

But again, each one of these experiences is far from everyday.

my pepperoni pizza is out of control good

I can depend where you live and what kind of food you want. And how lazy you are at the time but I would agree that most going out food is overrated.

There’s also that study that showed a sand which made by yourself doesn’t taste as good as when somebody else makes the exact same sand which. There might be some of that at a play. There are things restaurants do that you wouldn’t necessarily do too that would give them an unhealthy advantage m.youtube.com great stuff from Bourdain there

^ Funny muddy, but I also cook with a shit ton of butter because, as Bourdain said, it smooths out the finish of sauces nicely. Half the dishes I posted in my opening have butter in them, including the gravies, and in another post I also mentioned using butter when basting a thick steak. As he said, butter makes everything better. In every recipe I have which provides the option of using butter or oil, I choose butter, including the limited number of baked goods that I make.

Lately anything I’ve made at home is from the meal plan my natural doctor gave me.

Recipes I’ve especially liked so far and will definitely recreate in the future:

Hummus Beet Wrap Turkey Bacon and Bok Choy Salad Lemon Grilled Salmon & Veggies

I honestly believe just following the right recipes can beat out about 80% of restaurants out there, no matter one’s skill level.

I wanted to chime in though and say imo restaurants are convenient, and doesn’t need to be a high end steakhouse to justify itself as worth it. Don’t feel like simmering broth for 6-10 hours? That pho place down the road has got you. Don’t feel like (or can’t) acquire a bbq pit and feel like waiting 8-10 hours for brisket to finish smoking? Just go somewhere and buy bbq by either the pound or half pound.

My high school offered an elective class which was " home economics" for buys. It was the period before lunch break. So we all learn to cook. Or learned to follow a recipe. I can cook most basic things. But I hate to clean up so much ,that I don't cook. Except on a grill. But that doesn't entail very many dishes.

^. Home economic for boys.

I cook da tacos and give da taco shits! Dats how I get rich wit da shit truck!

I've definitely been cooking at home more. I agree that restaurant dining has taken a big hit. Like 25 & Rick both said, there are still some reasons to go out. For me its mostly waterfront dining and seafood, but generally its mostly about the location and atmosphere.

As for what I've been cooking, on game days I've been doing a lot of smoked meats. Brisket, ribs. Mixing it up with various styles. I've gotten fairly decent but I still fuck up periodically. I also got a sous vide cooker, or whatever you call that thing. So I've been playing with that thing a lot. I'm shocked at how easy and forgiving it is to reliably do things like steaks. My next step is to combine the two, and do a sous vide smoked brisket. I am a single guy who hates doing dishes, so weekday meals on the grill are pretty common. Combine that with working from home and you get grilled food for lunch too.

I have my basic recipes I'll cook for a week, then Uber Eats when I want something different

@rick, Providence beats the North End for Italian food.

Don’t burn my wiener on the grill!

@tetradon if you want real eytyan you need to go to Brooklyn

I eat out breakfast and/or lunch once or twice a week for socializing or convenience and dinner maybe 3 or 4 times a year for special occasions. So I do a lot of cooking just for myself. I am not a gourmet cook. I am a meat and potatoes cook and eat what ever I want. I've been cooking for almost 60 years and there isn't much that I haven't cooked. My mother taught me. I taught my ex wife and my kids. Left over sweet and sour stew tonight.

I travel more than 50% of the time so am always eating out since getting a hotel with a Kitchen isn't practical for short stays. I'm not a big "foodie" so I can usually find something that pleases me on the road fairly easily. I have tried more than a few of the restaurants on Diners Drive-ins and Dives and found the food to be as good as the show.

At home, I can cook but hate the clean-up. Therefore, I use the grill when I can. Luckily I have a natural gas grill a few feet from my couch so that is easy. During the lockdown, I bought a slow cooker and found some very tasty recipes on the internet that I would cook on Friday and have for the entire weekend. Cooking in the slow cooker caused a build-up in anticipation because of the smells that would fill the kitchen as time went on.

@25, Providence has better strip clubs. Day shift, then Italian on Federal Hill, then back for night shift, is how I roll.

^^ I know you New England guys think your food is great and it is, but if you’re looking for a authentic Italian Or Jewish food Brooklyn is where it is Now strip cliubs I’m now in South Florida and that’s really ground zero

But btw lets not kid ourselves your not gonna top certain ethnic food. Am I going to make better Mexican food than outside when I'm in LA? not the good spots. Italian on Arthur Avenue? Probably not. BBQ in KC or Austin? Nope etc. Some people out there are pros. Let them do them. A lot out there are apathetic phonies, and I could probably top that.

Certain stuff I can usually top, Burgers is a big one. Homemade hamburgers from scratch on the grill are always better than the ones I get outside. Another is Diners who think they can make everything, you could probably top most of it except the greek stuff which is runs the diners in the first place at least by me. And shakes. Shakes are always so sugary and make me thirsty as fuck when I get them from fast food joints, it's all trash. Just take some ice cream and mix it with milk at home, better than 99% of milkshakes you would get outside.

@25: You're right that one could debate whether the best of the best Italian or Jewish food (though the fantastic Jewish delis in Brookline MA would give Brooklyn a run for its money) is in enclaves in NY or MA. But it's not just about the best of the best, it's also about overall food quality among all the restaurants.

Sorry to break it to you, but the upper New England states have NY beat hands down. In almost every town in those states there is excellent everyday food to be had, including a ton of hole in the wall joints serving up delicious stuff. The diners and delis littering the NY metro area, by comparison, are serving up dog food.

Same thing with the average pizza joints in upper NE vs. NY. In New England excellent pizza can be found almost anywhere - it's a high art form. Even small little bars are selling delicious thin crust pizzas out the side door. I won't even get into the full serve Chinese restaurants vs the crap Chinese takeout joints littering the state.

When I moved from my home state to the NY metro area it was a horrible culinary shock. I had already traveled enough for work to realize how good I had it, but to have to live full time with the shitty excuses for food and lose all the everyday wonderful options I had took some getting used to. In fact that move is what motivated me to start cooking more for myself to begin with.

The ONE thing I will give NY over New England is the widespread availability of breakfast sandwiches on hard rolls. Even gas stations are making them fresh to order on a grill. They are cheap, filling and often delicious, especially when I say "salt, pepper, ketchup" when I place the order. But outside of this one bright spot it's not even remotely close.

This is why I learned to cook

Cat Cora

^^ whatever works best for you just keep in mind Bucky Dent and remind yourself to get a Ipswich clam sandwich Brooklyn is the world capital of Pizza, pastrami, and if you want a hot dog Manhattan has Katz Deli just a few blocks before the BrooklynnBridge 😁😁😁

BTW I forgot about the Chinese food available on Mott street eat your heart out you can say what ever you like try dim sum on Mott or ICanal streets you don’t have anything comparable in New England you need to go to san fransisco to find Chinese restaurants almost as good

Again 25 it's not about isolated enclaves and even those statements are debatable. NY has almost 20 million people in over 54,000 square miles. Most of them won't be casually hiking to Chinatown in NYC for Dim Sum or to Brooklyn for pizza, pastrami and dogs. Overall the food scene in NY sucks donkey ass compared to New England, but of course the same could be said for many states.

Oh, and Brooklyn pizza is WAY overrated. 😉

Italian buddy who lived in New York said he could find good pizza there, but not good coffee.

I'm a pretty good cook, but not with anything overly complicated. I'm very good at soups, broths, chili, and stew, which are all things that can be frozen and stored.

If I go out, I prefer to go after international fare that I can't cook (or don't want to take the time to learn). Example ... I love sushi, but I'll never invest the time into learning how to make it properly.

I have never had a better steak than one that was cooked sous vide, then finished in a skillet with a little butter, thyme, salt and pepper. Fork tender and juicy. Yum.

^^^ that sounds better than Pizza Hut!

I love using some Irish butter on my steak when cooking.

I mostly cook too, rather than eat out. As far as steaks go, I will only have a restaurant steak at a really good steakhouse. Otherwise, I’ll grill my own.

I enjoy cooking fish and wild game as well as roasting home grown vegetables. I like my own grilled salmon and lake trout better than anything I can find in a restaurant. I’ve also started grilling walleye and crappie as a change of pace from a fish fry. But I’m a newbie at that and have a ways to go on grilling those species.

I haven't had bbq ribs better than mine. I've had them so tender the bones were soft kinda.

I make an amazing chicken biryani

American taco egg rolls. Ground beef my own Mexican spice blend in egg roll rappers and pan fried. Served with home made salsa or Chinese mustard

Braised pork belly with wild mushrooms garlic onion served over rice

Fried cauliflower with home made tartar sauce

Shrimp quesadillas. Grill the shrimp then toss them with smoked Chipotle chilies and melted butter. Some Jack cheese. Fry in a tortilla on a Comal. A volcanic rock you heat up to make tortillas on.

Pasta with sun dried tomatoes zucchini garlic infused olive oil and Fetta cheese.

I used to eat out a lot more but quality went down hill in most places.

I always loved cooking so I don't mind it. It's relaxing and relieves stress and so is cleaning up.

Ps bitches love my cream pies

^^^ Yeah, it really does become tedious and dumb when... ummm... someone latches onto a single theme or topic and goes on about it every day... perhaps for years.

===> "this has been discussed so many times i am sick of the fucking subject"

Then maybe just ignore the thread?

"===> "this has been discussed so many times i am sick of the fucking subject"

Then maybe just ignore the thread?"

^ don't worry Ricky, scrubby is just trying to start an argument so we can all javhavee great make up sex on our next romp. 😉

Speaking of one-note wonders...

Thanks for the cooking tips, fellas. I'm don't go much beyond making a sandwich, or grilling something that I could slap BBQ sauce on. I do appreciate the aspect of saving money and time by "home cooking".

With many hotels offering fridge and microwave, I extend that mindset to traveling scenarios. I'd keep precooked grocery store chicken and frozen veggies in fridge. Nuking frozen spinach on dual paper plate for~ 8 minutes seems to work. Put frozen spinach in microwave, take shower, eat spinach, eat sub (IMHO grocery store subs better than Subway, etal, and I'm good to go. Alternative suggestion: Put spinach in micro, read a Papi review, eat spinach while still reading review, nuke chicken for 3 minutes while reading review, eat chicken while finishing reading review. I'm ready for club action now, just might make the 8pm cutoff time for day/night cover charge changeover.

PS- desertscrub should really learn how to home cook vs eating at McDonalds. Then he could take a shit in his own bathroom vs having to search for a crapper with a door on it.

^ I travel enough that I've tried stuff like that myself on a few longer trips. I even bought a hot plate and a couple of pans specifically for road travel. But ultimately it was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth, especially since the food was often even crappier than stuff I could order.

Now when I travel over 5 days I find a hotel with a kitchen (pots, pans, plates, appliances, etc.), not really for the cost savings but because I just get sick of road food after a while. If I'm driving my own car it's even simpler because I can bring spices, storage containers, utensils and a slow cooker with me, but even flying I can usually make it work. I arrive on the Sunday before my work week starts and cook a couple of big dishes that become dinners for the week ahead. I've also left stuff in a slow cooker while I'm on the job site.

Two Phil Phacts(tm) about Mr. Dugan the “foodie”:

Do not believe Mr. Dugan’s restaurant reviews. Restaurant food is better when you can afford something better than “whatever is in the dumpster behind the Waffle House”.

Most of Mr. Dugan’s “specialties” are bullshit. Except the Alfredo sauce. But you should stay away from Dugan Alfredo. It’s really his cum. Juice told me and Juice wouldn’t lie.

In summary: if Mr. Dugan tells you something about food you should consider the source and believe the exact opposite.

You’re welcome!

No need for me to join the ‘debate’ such as it is of home cooked v. restaurant food. There is always room for both. Same for foods and cooking methods. I cook most of the man stuff: gas grill, charcoal grill, charcoal smoker, sous vide. They all have their places and uses. Homemade pasta sauces, red, seafood and others.

I will second Dugan on the use of cast iron. A well seasoned cast iron pan is a phenomenal cooking tool. They’ve been used for hundred(s?) of years but I only learned in the last few years how awesome they are. They need to be ‘seasoned’ by coating with oil and then heated and cooled several times. The oil bonds with the pan and you have a nearly indestructible and nearly nonstick surface. You can wash it with soap but should put it away dry. If it ever rusts, you can sand it down to the metal and reseason it and it’s good to go again. Best is that you can heat it to 600 or 700 degrees if you like to sear your steak or scallops that way. I do this on the gas grill outside or on my kitchen gas stove. You get a good sear and Maillard reaction for a nice flavorful crust on the meat/fish. It will smoke a lot at that heat so if you do it on the stove you need a good range hood. That crust tastes way better than ‘grill marks’ which are mostly for show. The flavor is in the crust. It’s part of the reason shake shack burgers taste the way they do and why they stack smaller burgers rather than just using a bigger patty, more crust.