full year of cooking at home

Jayne

Jayne

Just here for the memes
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
8,028
Location
Unincorporated Wake County
Rating - 100%
34   0   0
March 10th 2020 was the last time we had food that we didn't make at home. No fast food, no restaurants, no take out, no delivery (which we had probably only done 1 time in the last 6 years anyway). The savings are incredible, but I knew that before.

We've really elevated our game, I'm essentially baking every bread product we use, and we're able to execute two types of pizza dough with pretty good success. Grilling, crock pot, oven roasting, pan searing, we've got multiple ways of doing everything now depending on the weather (grilling in the cold still doesn't work very well) and I'm probably contributing a full... 10% to the cooking efforts. :)

I've started making my own bagel dogs and other things to freeze for lunches, so the amount of pre-packaged frozen stuff we've been eating has gone way down to the point when I do nuke a frozen meal for lunch... it actually tastes pretty bad. I will admit that our home made hot pockets aren't quite right, but that's because of ingredient choices and not technique.

I hope this trend continues, wouldn't mind making 'going out' a rare treat for something special vs. just buying crap because we're lazy.
 
We rarely go out. My wife and I will very occasionally get a buy-one-get-one-free kind of thing, a sub, Moe's, something like that. We will occasionally order pizza for the fam, but we never go out as a family to eat. Ain't spending that kind of money.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
What do you mean grilling in the cold doesn't work very well?

I used to grill all winter long!
Click to expand...

I have a crappy grill, if it's too cold out nothing cooks correctly. We've tried and failed enough to know that's just how it is with this gear.
 
We still do takeout but don't go out often. My wife has really upped her game in the kitchen. To the point that going out is sometimes a step down in expectations. She perfected her pizza dough this year. I can post it if you are interested.

She has been doing normal salads for my dinner for a long time. But she branched out to other cold salads recently. Most of them have been very good. I refuse to eat on the road unless I have too.
 
detroit style pizza is my go to, really easy dough to work with

144707628_2137843899683557_5151417108320329742_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
Funny.
I cook a lot of the meals. All the breads and make the pizza. Chinese and Italian foods. My wife is the country food expert. We can all our jellies and fruit, deer meat and vegetables.
It’s tastes so much better than the restaurant stuff. We never go out to eat.
Bad part is over the winter I’ve gained 12 pounds. 😞
 
Diablos said:
detroit style pizza is my go to, really easy dough to work with
Click to expand...

We got pans like those, really makes it work. We've got two options for pizza now, more of a flat bread style on the grill, or the deep dish like you've got going on. We make two pizzas each time so we get to pick our own toppings. The wife uses less red sauce on her deep dish, and I'm starting to think that's the way to go. The leftovers of hers re-heat much nicer and aren't as goopy.
 
Some fun stuff. Thanksgiving was lamb 'dingle pies':

thanksgiving_8.jpg thanksgiving_9.jpg

Salads vary from basic to grilled asparagus and mushrooms:

roasted_asparagus_mushrooms_2.jpg

Snacks are still mostly store bought, although I've been experimenting with home made cheeze-its a bit:

orange_cheese_crackers_3.jpg

From the 'raised in the yard' selection, some simple gilled quail and naan:

grilled_quail_with_naan_2.jpg

And then those bagel dogs (which freeze very well, 90 seconds in the microwave from frozen and they're better than store bought):

bagel_dogs_2.jpg

I was looking for longer hot dogs in the store and mistakenly got chicken hot dogs and didn't notice until I read the package as I was making these. They turned out well enough that I got the same chicken hot dogs the next time, they're not as... well not greasy but less gamey? Not sure how to describe it other than they're better in this application.

grilled lamb, grilled 'hearts of palm' salad, and naan (can you tell I'm a fan?):

lamb_naan.jpg

and finally, some sea scallops (farmers market treat) with my basil pasta:

pasta_scallops.jpg
 
Last edited:
Did someone say Pizza... I have 2 different dough recipes. One for a conventional oven at 550 and one for a outdoor pizza oven at 800 plus. I went about 8+ months but then broke down and started getting take out now and then. I still cook 90% of the meals at home but I did that before COVID-19. We definitely eat better in terms of quality and taste than we can get from most local restaurants.

MM4Y7Rs.jpg




H2mdpgw.jpg


lQ65erg.jpg
 
Last edited:
One of my favorite things this year was recreating stuff at home. Things like General Taos Chicken. Mine was better than any of the take out places in town.

156686488_10214457120180854_2246357736124548742_n.jpg

I also do a lot of breads. The only downside to good homemade bread is the limited shelf life. I end up freezing some to reheat later.

QzWHF5J.jpg


HkPTltz.jpg


7M2bzjH.jpg


innLjQQ.jpg


LYuOL0G.jpg


YuiGp7a.jpg
 
Last edited:
wvsig said:
One of my favorite things this year was recreating stuff at home. Things like General Taos Chicken. Mine was better than any of the take out places in town.
Click to expand...

You get a supply of MSG to keep it real? :)

wvsig said:
YuiGp7a.jpg
Click to expand...

I just picked up a bread lame to up my baguette game. Mine taste correct but don't look snazzy enough. Yet.
 
Jayne said:
You get a supply of MSG to keep it real? :)



I just picked up a bread lame to up my baguette game. Mine taste correct but don't look snazzy enough. Yet.
Click to expand...

MSG is awesome! It naturally occurs in foods like blue cheese and dry aged steaks. It is the source of umami. IMHO

A bread lame is a game changer in terms of presentation. It also helps to develop a better crumb.
 
Last edited:
Jayne said:
Uh, we're going to need to see some pictures of that! The wife is 100% on-board with us getting a pizza oven outside, I just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe it's time.

I did get this book for some ideas, but this would take a ton of time: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/096798467X



That is awesome looking crust. Is that in the pizza oven?
Click to expand...

That is actually in a conventional oven. The key is a long cold proof. I proof the dough in the fridge for 48-72 hours. A high hydration dough with a high protein flour. Another game changer is to add malt powder.
 
This is the flour I used for oven pizza. It is a super high protein flour. It is 14% vs all purpose which is normally around 10%.

brickovenbaker.com

General Mills All Trumps Flour Unbleached, Unbromated

If you are looking to re-create chewy pizza crusts at home, the All Trumps high gluten flour is your secret ingredient. By containing 3 - 4% more protein by weight than all-purpose flour your pizza dough made with All Trumps will have more strength and elasticity. Hard red spring wheat flour...
brickovenbaker.com brickovenbaker.com

I use OO for pizza oven Neapolitan.

brickovenbaker.com

Mulino Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour

Preferred by most of the best wood-fired pizza makers around the world and here is where you can get your hands on it too. In Naples, Italy, where it is milled, it is used by over eighty percent of the professional pizza makers. They love it for its superior blend of wheats and consistency in...
brickovenbaker.com brickovenbaker.com
 
Jayne said:
Uh, we're going to need to see some pictures of that! The wife is 100% on-board with us getting a pizza oven outside, I just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe it's time.

I did get this book for some ideas, but this would take a ton of time: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/096798467X



That is awesome looking crust. Is that in the pizza oven?
Click to expand...
I have the smaller version of this. We move to much to build one. Eventually I will get a wood fired one.

ooni.com

Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven

Whether cooking in your backyard for friends or feeding a hungry crowd, our Ooni Koda 16 Gas-Powered Outdoor pizza oven fires out jaw-dropping pizzas in 60 seconds flat.
ooni.com ooni.com
 
Last edited:
wvsig said:
I have the smaller version of this. We move to much to build one. Eventually I will get a wood fired one.

ooni.com

Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven

Whether cooking in your backyard for friends or feeding a hungry crowd, our Ooni Koda 16 Gas-Powered Outdoor pizza oven fires out jaw-dropping pizzas in 60 seconds flat.
ooni.com ooni.com
Click to expand...

Several people I don't like have that same oven. Kept me from looking at them seriously because I dislike every life choice they've made.

Guess I can be wrong.
 
wvsig said:
This is the flour I used for oven pizza. It is a super high protein flour. It is 14% vs all purpose which is normally around 10%.
Click to expand...

We use bread flour for the pan dough, but AP for the flatbread (I think, we make big batches of dough and freeze them in ball form so I don't have to make dough every time we want pizza).
 
Jayne said:
Several people I don't like have that same oven. Kept me from looking at them seriously because I dislike every life choice they've made.

Guess I can be wrong.
Click to expand...

They work well but there is a learning curve. You fire it up and get it as hot as you can which is about 800-900 depending on conditions. When you are ready to "throw" a pizza in you turn it down to 50%. You then have to rotate it as it cooks in less than 2 minutes. In the beginning you mess up the throw into the oven and burn some pizza. After a while you get the hang of it and make Neapolitan. I have run it next to a wood fire and then done blind taste tests and you can't tell the difference from a pizza cooked on this one vs a woodfire oven. They are not in there long enough to absorb the smoke. The wife prefers more NYC style oven pizza more than the Neapolitan. These are pizzas cooked in the Ooni. The crust has that leopard skin and has a much chewier crumb to it.

118106397_10213384865215150_3687936300088797660_o (1).jpg

119041592_10213496691730743_8861382622261959048_o.jpg
 
Jayne said:
March 10th 2020 was the last time we had food that we didn't make at home. No fast food, no restaurants, no take out, no delivery (which we had probably only done 1 time in the last 6 years anyway). The savings are incredible, but I knew that before.

We've really elevated our game, I'm essentially baking every bread product we use, and we're able to execute two types of pizza dough with pretty good success. Grilling, crock pot, oven roasting, pan searing, we've got multiple ways of doing everything now depending on the weather (grilling in the cold still doesn't work very well) and I'm probably contributing a full... 10% to the cooking efforts. :)

I've started making my own bagel dogs and other things to freeze for lunches, so the amount of pre-packaged frozen stuff we've been eating has gone way down to the point when I do nuke a frozen meal for lunch... it actually tastes pretty bad. I will admit that our home made hot pockets aren't quite right, but that's because of ingredient choices and not technique.

I hope this trend continues, wouldn't mind making 'going out' a rare treat for something special vs. just buying crap because we're lazy.
Click to expand...

I really wanted to learn making sourdough bread during 2020, but knew my carb intake would be through the roof!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom