Doing ramen properly is a major passion project. But short ribs??? Apparently this “pro editor” needs to buy a timer to remind her to check her braise and not let it go over.
4 Likes
The only thing holding me back from making short ribs more often is the exorbitant price of the ribs and the crappy cuts that are usually available in my hood. Croissants would be a big no from me.
7 Likes
Croquembouche is on the list? It’s just cream puffs glued together with caramel and is a lot of fun to make. They look really impressive and difficult but really aren’t.
Croissants are a bit of a pain, but when you have to drive for an hour to get a good one, you learn to make them at home. (Basically the reason I’ve learned to cook and bake. Believe me, if the local options were better, I’d be getting them.
Their deep fried items and turducken get a hard pass. None are things I or any member of the family enjoy, though I’ve done enough po’boy shrimp and chicken (which the juniors love) and big J does the best fried spring rolls in the world.
2 Likes
braises - of any sort - are utterly duck soup. it is - imho - one of the lower/lowest effort/strain for the cook.
if you are not ‘at home’ all day . . . that’s why slow cookers were invented . . .
short ribs to pot roast . . . produces very tasty stuff - it’s the time factor that does the work.
I’ve had deep fried turkey - when done right, very good stuff. a comparison similar to baked chicken vs. southern fried chicken . . . but “done right” takes experience, fer’ sure…
2 Likes
My mom would make wonton by the truckload about once a year. When my brother and I got to around seven or eight, we started helping her. I’m sure the first year it took more time than usual because she had to stop and help us, but it’s such a repetitive thing that from the second year on, we could knock out a few hundred in pretty short order. She’d freeze them on trays, then bag them up, and they’d disappear over the course of a few months, about three dozen at a time - one meal of wonton soup for four peeps could easily use 30-40 of those little suckers.
Mrs. ricepad and I continued the tradition for a long time, but it’s probably been at least 15 years since we last made them. I’ve been cheating and using pot stickers in my wonton soup!
4 Likes
Ha ha! Agreed. I still make them, however, as I can’t buy them of the same quality - neither for love nor money.
Same. Bao are in the same category. I have to say, though, if I lived near @THECHARLES I’d be so spoiled for choice I’d probably never make them myself again.
1 Like
If you ever are near Kensington Market, Sanagan’s usually has 2 or 3 different short rib cuts, as well as an English cut which is a longer cut.
They also sell their meat online and deliver. The charge isn’t too bad to your neck of the woods. I send my friend,.who lives near you, soup or chicken pot pie from Sanagan’s when he’s not feeling well.
1 Like
I always do this. I’m shameless.
2 Likes
I have a few good butchers in my hood, but it’s the cost that scares me 
I’ve bought them from Farm Boy a few times when they’re on sale, but they cut them way too small for my liking.
1 Like
I have run into problems with the meat at one FarmBoy location in London. (no issues with my other regular FarmBoy, I don’t shop at FarmBoy in Toronto). I still buy the most basic meats like ground beef at FB, but nothing special. My better meat mostly comes from Grace in Little Italy or Sanagan’s, or McIntosh farms in Listowel (too far for you LOL).
The prices at Grace on College and Vince Gasparro on Bloor are very good.
Would think a bit cheaper than Farm Boy’s regular prices. I think my pork shoulder was $5.99 CAD/ lb regular price at Grace on Monday.
I didn’t realise Grace does delivery.
I might try Stock TC or the Butchers Son for a treat one day as they’re only a 5-10 min walk from my place.
As much as I love braised short ribs, I don’t love them enough to schlep downtown for them 
1 Like
A bunch of years ago, after a decade plus of rising early to smoke the Thanksgiving Day turkey for a crowd, I decided to get a large electric fryer, put it outside, and give that a try. It turned out great and was a hit with the masses.
After a couple years it finally occurred to me I could amortize my cost and bring the fryer to our summer rental, where I’m also tasked with cooking for a an army. Head slap! Friday night fish fry? Scallops? Fried zucchini? Coconut shrimp? Fried Oreos with vanilla ice cream? My classic Weber finally got some summer help.
4 Likes
I’m going to cut them some slack here, as it seems intended as a light-hearted “article” (hey, it’s more than 4 sentences). I imagine most of these writers are in fact working somewhere in a big city with plenty of good food and inspiration, and are squeezed in the kitchen or fridge space they live with. To be fair, not wanting to make something is different from not being able to make something, and I go through those periods too.
Ramen I’d never attempt from home without doing serious cheating. I make noodle soups all the time, from the plethora of Chinese versions, to Vietnamese and even udon noodles. Ramen soup base is super rich and salty, and while I can eat most noodle soups every day, I can’t do the same for Japanese style ramen. Anyone who’s made soup noodles knows that you can’t make a 1-2 serving sized broth, so I’ll stick to dining out or using cheats (e.g., ready made broths, frozen, etc.).
Short-ribs to me are easy though, because I use the slow cooker every time, and they come out perfect! Duck legs is all about patience, but with the short ribs and oxtails, these cuts are getting expensive. I love croissants, but I’ve never once wanted to make one from scratch - same for most pastries.
2 Likes
I once wanted to try because I thought it would be a fun weekend project with my kids. So we read a few recipes and it turns out it’s an entire weekend project. We went to a bakery instead.
1 Like
Lol, it sounds like when I was trying to make milk bread/shokupan using the tangzhong starter. I never baked bread before, and I was doing this in my little apartment kitchen at the time (with only a hand-held mixer to boot). What I thought would be a few hours of fun, it took the whole day! I think my baked loaves came out at like 10 or 11pm or something, after starting around mid-morning. They were really good, but not a casual thing.
1 Like
You both make SE’s point for buying some food stuffs vs making them 
