The "what can I use this for?" thread

[Daikaiju]

Duck fat tips.

[MooMoo]

My brain reversed those letters

[Beefy Hits]

Collard Greens. Very few people buy it. It's mostly black people I've noticed. Isn't that normally a southern thing? Do you use them in salad?

[R^2]

Collard greens are for long braises. Start with bacon (or ham hock if you can find it), braise your greens for a few hours, add white beans, top with hot sauce.

[Violentvixen]

They're great for slow cooking too. Really similar to kale.

[Ample Vigour]

The smell and flavor are totally outside mainstream white cuisine. I've seen white midwesterners driven out of the house by a simmering pot of collards.

[The Raider Dr. Jones]

I forget the exact recipe I used to use, but fixing quick cooked greens went something like: cook some chopped bacon in a skillet, remove the meat, leave the fat, add water and cider vinegar with a little sugar and a dash of salt to the pan, heat that until it's simmering, add greens, stir, cover and let them cook until they wilt. Put the cooked bacon back in, eat with some hot sauce on top.

For me the keys were the meat and the vinegar, so they taste like something, and not cooking them too long, because they can easily cook down into green mush with no texture. Instead of bacon you can use fatback, pork belly, tasso ham, other good stuff like that.

[Ample Vigour]

Acids like vinegar are absolutely key when working with greens, definitely. I prefer to use ham hock (aka pork knuckle) but I just found a recipe that used smoked dark meat turkey. That sounds like a good choice for someone who shouldn't eat pork.

[Violentvixen]

I have never thought of smoked turkey with collard greens, but man does that sound good.

[The Raider Dr. Jones]

Sure, anything that gets some salt, fat, protein, and meaty flavor in there.

[Paul le Fou]

Originally Posted by Rufferto

My next idea is to stir fry some greens (likely bok choy) with the fat and serve it as a side, but I'll probably have a bunch of fat left over. I saw some recipes suggesting I pan fry potatoes, which sounds amazing, but for some reason potatoes are relatively expensive here. Any other ideas? I'd also be open to any other suggestions besides pan frying, but I only have access to a toaster oven and electric range.

how are potatoes expensive anywhere

what nightmare hellscape do you live in where potatoes are expensive

[Torzelbaum]

Originally Posted by Paul le Fou

how are potatoes expensive anywhere

what nightmare hellscape do you live in where potatoes are expensive

Is Rufferto a time traveler from mid-1800s Ireland?

[Rufferto]

Oops, totally forgot about this thread.

Originally Posted by Paul le Fou

how are potatoes expensive anywhere

what nightmare hellscape do you live in where potatoes are expensive

I live in hell China

(Potatoes aren't that expensive here, they're just expensive relative to all the amount of other foods I could get instead. They're also sold individually, so no 10lb sacks of potatoes for 3 bucks like back in California or however much.)

[Büge]

I just discovered a whole pile of frozen spinach in my freezer. What should I make with it?

[Ample Vigour]

Originally Posted by Büge

I just discovered a whole pile of frozen spinach in my freezer. What should I make with it?

If you eat dairy/eggs, make quiche. Good for any meal, hot or cold.

[muteKi]

slice up a red onion. get some croutons. vinaigrette. spinach salad.

[Ample Vigour]

Originally Posted by muteKi

slice up a red onion. get some croutons. vinaigrette. spinach salad.

All the cell walls have busted from freezing. It'll never be crisp, like you want in a salad.

[Daikaiju]

Spanakopita?

[muteKi]

Originally Posted by Ample Vigour

All the cell walls have busted from freezing. It'll never be crisp, like you want in a salad.

oh right, missed that it was specifically frozen. ignore my previous post.

spanakopita is a great suggestion though!!

[Googleshng]

Originally Posted by Daikaiju

Spanakopita?

Thirding this, and wishing I had the ingredients handy for one myself.

[JBear]

I was also going to say spanakopita before seeing that everyone else already had, and this despite the fact that I don't really care for it (not a fan of phyllo dough, and yes this includes baklava).

[Ample Vigour]

Originally Posted by JBear

I was also going to say spanakopita before seeing that everyone else already had, and this despite the fact that I don't really care for it (not a fan of phyllo dough, and yes this includes baklava).

It's thin and crispy though.

[muteKi]

I mean you can also take all those same ingredients sans the phyllo
(i.e., spinach, onion, garlic, feta, parsley) and have a great set of pizza toppings. Got any pine nuts?

[Violentvixen]

We made a friend's mulled wine recipe at home and while very tasty it's left us with almost an entire bottle of very cheap brandy. We tried it in a couple cocktails and the cheapness is obvious so I think we need to do something else with it.

Any good recipes using brandy? Ideally more than just desserts but those are welcome too!

[R^2]

I got some saffron as a gift but it's so outside my price range I have virtually no experience with it.

[Daikaiju]

Originally Posted by Violentvixen

We made a friend's mulled wine recipe at home and while very tasty it's left us with almost an entire bottle of very cheap brandy. We tried it in a couple cocktails and the cheapness is obvious so I think we need to do something else with it.

Any good recipes using brandy? Ideally more than just desserts but those are welcome too!

Hot toddy?

Originally Posted by R^2

I got some saffron as a gift but it's so outside my price range I have virtually no experience with it.

Getting the Most from a Pinch of Saffron

[Violentvixen]

Originally Posted by Daikaiju

Hot toddy?

Huh, my family's recipe for Hot Toddy/Tom and Jerry recipes were always whiskey or rum, but I can see brandy working. Good idea!

[Torzelbaum]

Originally Posted by Violentvixen

Huh, my family's recipe for Hot Toddy/Tom and Jerry recipes were always whiskey or rum, but I can see brandy working. Good idea!

'Tis the season.