Boyz II Men's thread

[Acacia Sgt]

I'm not really that well versed on the terms about how much cooked the meat is, much less so the English equivalents, so I'll just say...

Wrapped in a tortilla. Yes, the whole steak if possible.

Edited August 18, 2018 by Acacia Sgt

[eclipse]

On 8/16/2018 at 12:49 PM, XRay said:

I also do not have experience with baking sweets like pies, cakes, and cookies, but I think it should not be too difficult if I follow the instructions.

Baking is more of a science, so following directions will yield passable results.  But there's some things that a recipe book just can't convey.  Namely, how soft butter needs to be before making a proper cookie dough.  You can fiddle with refrigeration if the butter's too soft, but who wants to wait around for that?

Anyway, steak is medium for most things, and medium-rare if the restaurant has good quality steak.

[XRay]

6 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Namely, how soft butter needs to be before making a proper cookie dough.  You can fiddle with refrigeration if the butter's too soft, but who wants to wait around for that?

I never knew butter's softness mattered. I learn something new every day! But does the softness matter though, since baking basically melts it anyway? Or is it more of having the right softness allows the ingredients to be more easily mixed?

6 hours ago, Pengaius said:

So, how does everyone like their steak

I like it blue (a thin seared layered on the outside, bloody and raw on the inside). Ever since I discovered filet mignon, every other steak pales in comparison. In my opinion, cooking filet mignon beyond medium rare is heresy. I understand if people prefer it rare or medium rare, although I personally think filet mignon is ruined once it goes beyond rare. Since my electric stove is not hot enough, I can only cook it rare myself, but if I am at a restaurant, I will order blue if possible.

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, XRay said:

I never knew butter's softness mattered. I learn something new every day! But does the softness matter though, since baking basically melts it anyway? Or is it more of having the right softness allows the ingredients to be more easily mixed?

You need the right balance between ease of mixing and consistency.  The butter will melt while baking, but you'll need to shape the dough beforehand.  I've also found that if the butter is too soft, the final product's consistency will be off (I think it came out too flat and crumbly, but this was fifteen years ago).

For buttercream frosting, the butter's firmness dictates everything.  Runny frosting sucks.

[Johann]

7 hours ago, Pengaius said:

So, how does everyone like their steak

I have no taste for steak or red meat in general. I pretty much only ever ate it out of a sense of obligation for whoever cooked it, but these days it's just a hard no thanks.

[Interdimensional Observer]

6 hours ago, NinjaMonkey said:

I like my steak well done.

Error. 'Taste' = not found

Heathen! Say you have it with ketchup, and may you spend purgatory being flogged in marinade and then slowly grilled over charcoal.

 

58 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Anyway, steak is medium for most things, and medium-rare if the restaurant has good quality steak.

Now this is how I prefer it. Rare is too rare, well done is shoe leather, medium is fine for home and most eateries not specializing in high quality steak- the perfect place between flavor and safety. Medium-rare in the hands of a fine steakhouse one can absolutely trust is divine.

 

Speaking of baking, I've been watching the whole of the Great British Baking Show for the past few weeks. Ten episodes, three rounds each, all non-professionals, covered quite a variety of baked goods. So many delicious things, shame there are all too difficult for me to make.

I love watching Good Eats reruns. I stumbled on it as a kid (I had a Food Network phase), and rediscovering it years later, it has been nostalgic and enlightening in a way. The scientific analytic aspect is certainly useful, particularly with baked goods. And I'll never forget the little historical skit moment on the Dutch East Indies and alcoholic punch.

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Speaking of baking, I've been watching the whole of the Great British Baking Show for the past few weeks. Ten episodes, three rounds each, all non-professionals, covered quite a variety of baked goods. So many delicious things, shame there are all too difficult for me to make.

You gotta start somewhere!  I think brownies would be the easiest, since there's no frosting, and you don't have to worry about the consistency of the butter.  Start with the boxed stuff if you're nervous, then move on shortly afterwards (no more than two boxes).

[XRay]

47 minutes ago, eclipse said:

For buttercream frosting, the butter's firmness dictates everything.  Runny frosting sucks.

Could you freeze/refrigerate it and firm it back up?

46 minutes ago, Johann said:

I have no taste for steak or red meat in general. I pretty much only ever ate it out of a sense of obligation for whoever cooked it, but these days it's just a hard no thanks.

What kind of meat do you like?

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, XRay said:

Could you freeze/refrigerate it and firm it back up?

You can, but then you'll have to take it out of the freezer/refrigerator and wait again, if the butter's too hard.

[Johann]

Just now, XRay said:

What kind of meat do you like?

Everything else, really. Chicken, turkey, fish (but not shellfish, I can't stand that at all). I'd be willing to try more exotic stuff like alligator or ostrich or whatever if I get the chance.

[Karimlan]

I like my steaks medium to medium well.  

Re baking: I've tried my hand at baking bread, but nothing fancier than that. I fancy it as architecture--everything needs to be calculated and precise, and I'm a little slapdash with cooking in general. Ergo: not a very good combo.

[eclipse]

Baking bread is NOT easy.

[Karimlan]

It was a miracle seeing that dough rise. I thought I couldn't make it rise at all (apparently, neither did my friends watching at the time).

[eclipse]

Measuring out the ingredients is easy.  Getting the water temperature right for the yeast to activate isn't.  It took me a long time before I made a sandwich bread I felt was half-decent.

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, eclipse said:

Baking bread is NOT easy.

Odd, hasn't been hard for my none-too-into-baking family. Well rolls at least. Unless you're making something real fancy, I think bread is more time-intensive than work-intensive, waiting all the time for the rising. If you have a machine to tackle the kneading that makes things much easier, if not, oh the workout that'll give you. 

[eclipse]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Odd, hasn't been hard for my none-too-into-baking family. Well rolls at least. Unless you're making something real fancy, I think bread is more time-intensive than work-intensive, waiting all the time for the rising. If you have a machine to tackle the kneading that makes things much easier, if not, oh the workout that'll give you. 

Bread machine is super-easy mode, and a stand mixer makes things a lot easier.  Getting the thing to rise correctly was another story.

[MacLovin]

can confirm, baking using old school techniques is a total bitch.

 

[Darros]

I like my steak on the rarer side but I'll eat it practically anywhere on the spectrum beyond like blue

[XRay]

3 hours ago, Darros said:

I like my steak on the rarer side but I'll eat it practically anywhere on the spectrum beyond like blue

So basically any way but raw?

I have not tried raw steak before. While I would not eat raw beef from the grocery store since I am not sure how long the beef has been sitting there, if a restaurant prepares the raw beef for me, I would not mind eating it.

[Pengaius]

So uh, necropost?

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Pengaius said:

So uh, necropost?

I thought that does not exist in Far from the Forest. Threads stay alive forever.

[MacLovin]

On 8/20/2018 at 8:25 AM, Darros said:

I like my steak on the rarer side but I'll eat it practically anywhere on the spectrum beyond like blue

well done steak is for the heathen.

[Karimlan]

@Joe Cool: You've forgotten about tapa, or the Filipino breakfast steak :D

[MacLovin]

2 hours ago, Karimlan said:

@Joe Cool: You've forgotten about tapa, or the Filipino breakfast steak :D

because the chorizo is just too good.

[Hawkwing]

YOUTH

I WANT TO SEE YOU GAME, BOYS, I WANT TO SEE YOU BRAVE AND MANLY, AND I ALSO WANT TO SEE YOU GENTLE AND TENDER.

BE PRACTICAL AS WELL AS GENEROUS IN YOUR IDEALS. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE STARS BUT REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND.

COURAGE, HARD WORK, SELF-MASTERY, AND INTELLIGENT EFFORT ARE ALL ESSENTIAL TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE.

ALIKE FOR THE NATION AND THE INDIVIDUAL, THE ONE INDISPENSABLE REQUISITE IS CHARACTER.

MANHOOD

A MAN'S USEFULNESS DEPENDS UPON HIS LIVING UP TO HIS IDEALS INSOFAR AS HE CAN.

IT IS HARD TO FAIL, BUT IT IS EVEN WORSE NEVER TO HAVE TRIED TO SUCCEED.

ALL DARING AND COURAGE, ALL IRONED ENDURANCE OF MISFORTUNE MAKE A FINER AND NOBLER TYPE OF MANHOOD.

ONLY THOSE ARE FIT TO LIVE WHO DO NOT FEAR TO DIE, AND NONE ARE FIT TO DIE WHO HAVE SHRUNK FROM THE JOY OF LIFE AND THE DUTY OF LIFE.

 

From the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial. These are but a few of the quotes and writings from the 26th President of the United States of America. I found out about them yesterday, and decided to share in a place where they seemed relevant.