u/DiningwithDeclan

Week 33/52: Lost in Translation - Frijol con Puerco (Beans with ?)

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Lost in Translation and we made Frijol con Puerco wrong

I wanted to do something fun for this challenge so I had a friend from Yucatán Mexico send me a recipe entirely in Spanish when I know like 6 Spanish words.

The first picture is obviously the food and the second picture is her recipe with my translation.

I think I did generally pretty good but there were a few things that I REALLY got hung up on.

Like I had no clue what Puerco was and that was pretty important because it’s in the name.

Also had NO idea what Epazote is and finally landed on chili powder when in reality now that I’m able to google stuff:

It’s tea. lol. TEA.

I have no idea how much my bad gringo interpretations changed the flavor of the dish but it tasted pretty good in the end!

We ate it my beans with ? With white rice and salsa and enjoyed it!

I’ll have to make it again sometime properly because it was dirt cheap and very filling and comforting.

As a bonus I feel like I learned a lot of Spanish.

Week 32/52: Gimmicks - Roll Up Doner Kebab

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Gimmicks and we made Roll Up Doner Kebabs

I saw this (probably like most of you) viral cooking “hack” a while ago from MezeMike and while I’m typically pretty immune and wary of all the viral cooking hack stuff:

I thought this one looked really cool.

Most of the time when you see those types of things it takes more time, is annoying, stupid or just flat out makes an inferior product to whatever could be done with just a tiny bit more effort.

This one however has the seal of approval of actually being really good and I think the best way to make Doner style shaved meat that I can think of.

For those not watching the video (or just don’t want to) the long and short of it is that you mush the beef flat behind two sheets of parchment and then roll it up before baking.

It’s a super clever way of doing it and it turned out great. I can’t necessarily say I like it more than some of the other kebab style food we make but for the effort it was really great.

Also would scale suuupppeerrr well if you wanted to cook for like 20 people.

We served it on Lavash bread with some Toom, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce with some fat chips on the side.

I’m 1 for like 10 now on viral hacks being worth it but check this one out!

Week 31/52: Cantonese - Beef and Broccoli

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Cantonese and we made Beef and Broccoli

I’ve always wanted a Wok so when we woke up Sunday I told my lady that I wanted to go get one and the Woks of Life book since I love their website so much.

The book was easy, the wok literally took 6 stores including 3 Chinese grocery stores just for us to find a perfect one at Walmart after like 5 hours of driving around.

Anyways.

This turned out good and I’m genuinely so excited to make more wok stuff!

If you watch the video you’ll notice that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing but that’s how everything starts.

Since this I also made some spam fried rice which was awesome.

The beef and broccoli was great! It was def missing some more msg and was also missing the experience of hearing people yell at each other while a small child does homework at a table in the restaurant like my favorite local spot.

Some things are just impossible to perfectly replicate and while this was GOOD it wasn’t PERFECT.

Anyways if you have any wok tips lemme know because this stuck a lot and I have no idea what I’m doing.

Week 30/52: Science Fair - Chat GPT Chicken and Orzo

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Science and we made “Sunset Garden Chicken with Creamy Basil Orzo”

This was my darkest hour.

As an impassioned AI hater everything that could go wrong, did go wrong:

It was easy

It was fun

It was quick

It was really good

Truthfully I thought this would make a really great video because I expected chat gpt to make a really whacky recipe since my prompt included instructions to be original, use no other existing recipes and make an interesting and creative dinner.

While it admittedly was kind of uninspired and plain it was really well put together.

There’s some things I would change seasoning wise and also timing especially on the veggies but honestly the technique was super sound and it tasted good.

I expected to make a funny video for “Cheesy Salmon Baked Salad” or “Watermelon Shrimp Burrito Bowls” but realistically I would eat this again.

I’m still aggressively against AI usage in all artistic fields and realistically I probably won’t use it again for cooking but I think it could be a really helpful tool for those who are new to cooking or need guidance on how to use up leftover ingredients in simple ways.

Fun experiment, good (sadly) results

Week 29/52: Offal - Red Beans and Rice

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Offal and we made Red Beans and Rice.

Get it because KIDNEY beans

Anyways the initial plan was to make a type of English meatball but I was worried that type of meatball may get me reported on my video or social media posts.

It rhymes with Maggot and they’re delicious but also unfortunately a uhhh unkind word.

It worked out though because red beans and rice is one of my personal favorites. It’s extremely cheap, extremely easy and very filling. The only hard thing is figuring out how to keep it interesting when you’ve eaten it 4 days in a row.

You owe it to yourself to give it a try especially with how good the economy is right now. It’s nice to unwind and eat something cheap and filling just for fun when you want a break from lobster and filets.

Week 28/52: Wild West - T Bone Steak with Corn, Baked Potato and Peppercorn Cream Sauce (what don’t ya want)

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Wild West and we made a T Bone Steak.

Initially the plan was to make beans because I that to me is the most iconic cowboy food but then I realized we’ve made beans like….10 times in the past two months lol

So we took inspiration from the best Oklahoma movie of all time: Hell or High Water and made the “what don’t ya want”.

For those reading and not watching the video it comes from a scene where the characters are ordering food and the waitress says “what don’t you want” because people only ever order “a T-bone steak and a baked potato. So either you don’t want the corn on the cob or you don’t want the green beans.”

She also says the steaks only come medium rare but we like medium (sorry) and I made a peppercorn sauce because otherwise all the steak fond is just a waste.

We never make steak because it’s expensive af but this was actually cheaper than for both of us to eat at Whataburger.

So yeah I know food prices are insane but it’s important to know that the absolute ghouls who run these fast food companies are somehow even greedier while promising value.

Oh well. Good steaks though!

Week 27/52: World Cup - Jacket Potato

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was World Cup and we made a Jacket Potato.

It’s comin home, it’s official.

The original plan was to do some Mexican English fusion, but that sounded like a ton of work for some potentially really really weird food.

So instead I just went with whoever won England Mexico which led me to ol reliable.

The jacket potato.

It’s been getting a lot of attention lately from an American audience lately because of TikTok so if you’ve never had one but are curious I highly. HIGHLY. Encourage you to hit the classic butter, cheese and beans.

If it was good enough for the war and good enough for little Declan then it’s good enough for you.

If you need proof just look at me.

I’m big and strong and I think for the first like 12 years of my life I only ate this, beans on toast and egg with toast soldiers.

There’s a time for experimentation, decadence and splendor.

But there’s also a time to be reminded that sometimes food just tastes like what it is and that our world is complicated enough as it is.

And that time is all the time.

So eat bean cheese potato.

It’s comin home.

Week 26/52: High Fiber - Black Bean Burger

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was High Fiber and we made a Black Bean Burger.

My lady is out of town this week which normally means I literally just eat special k, peanut butter and jellys and hot dogs but I had to cook something for the challenge.

So I thought maybe I could make the most of it and the challenge would be pork or steak or expensive or at least something fun but it was FIBER.

FIBER.

It was probably a good thing to force me to eat healthy and I’ve been wanting to make these Black Bean Burgers from Kenji for a while so I guess it worked out.

These turned out I think as good as a black bean burger can. They were really flavorful and quite dense so it didn’t feel like I was missing out on much.

It was my first time ever eating black bean burgers and I would definitely try it again.

I served it with a charred broccoli pasta salad with a tomato vinaigrette and it was a very healthy and satisfying meal.

If you watch the video: I think they maybe turned out a bit mushy due to the extra egg but it’s also my understanding that mush is just a black bean burger thing so you tell me.

Genuinely shocked how easy and good this was? Might be my new favorite thing to smoke

Week 25/52: Gardening - Banana Pepper Pasta Sauce

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Gardening and we made a Banana Pepper Pasta Sauce.

I don’t have a garden because I’m lazy, don’t like to learn and hate sweat but luckily I knew a guy.

He’s the second best tattoo artist I know, my best friend and happens to have a legitimately crazy garden.

My initial expectation was to make salsa or something but we hung out and he gave me a bunch of stuff including an ass load of banana peppers. I didn’t know what to do with them because I don’t eat banana peppers but I figured…pasta? Sauce?

My expectations for a no recipe, vegetable medley of things I don’t eat, cooked 10 white claws deep with no plan weren’t exactly sky high but listen to me now:

This is one of the best things weve ever made.

This was seriously so good I couldn’t believe it.

We’re going to bother him for more banana peppers because we were both in shock at how good it turned out.

Next time for more spice I think I’ll use hot Italian sausage and then white wine instead of chicken broth but this was near perfect.

Also a pro tip for not just this but for any pasta sauce is try the Cascatelli from Sfoglini. It was designed to be the “perfect pasta shape” and they genuinely weren’t wrong.

Also I know there’s way too much parsley as garnish so keep it to yourself.

Week 24/52: Tarot - Strawberry Fool

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Tarot and we made a Strawberry Fool.

BERRIES AND CREAM BERRIES AND CREAM

I initially wanted to do some kind of thing where a tarot reading somehow decided what we were gonna cook but I really couldn’t figure out a way to do that.

So after looking through one of our tarot decks for inspiration I figured the next best thing was doing a Fool since you know….the fool.

A Fool is a classic English desert that is quite literally just berries and cream.

It’s oftentimes made 5 days later than planned by skinny fat dual citizens who are struggling to stay motivated to film and edit their cooking videos.

This was good though! It was a great summery light desert (even though it’s super fattening) and it was even better the next day.

Nicole had the genius idea to crush some graham crackers in it which I should have done the first night and the second day it took on much more of a “mousse” type texture. It was weird. But good.

Anyways; it couldn’t be easier and it’s infinitely customizable by using different fruits so don’t be a fool, make a fool.

It doesn’t uhhhh photograph well but that’s a me thing not a dessert thing.

Week 23/52: Coffee - Apple Crumble Coffee Cake

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Coffee.

Thank god for coffee cake.

Not just because it’s delicious but because it allowed me to complete this weeks challenge without actually using coffee; because coffee is gross.

I initially thought I may weasel out of it by just making a coffee rubbed steak or something but beef is expensive and that still runs the risk of potentially tasting a LOT like coffee.

This ended up being a great choice though!

I think it says a lot about food and especially baked goods if someone can fuck it up practically every step of the way and still be delicious.

Nicole LOVED it so that was also a huge plus.

If I made this again I would take more care measuring ingredients and also read a manual about cubing apples or something.

My only real complaints was the look of it, the frustration of trying to layer it properly and then the size of the apples made it so they weren’t cooked perfectly but other than that:

We ate it with some vanilla ice cream and it was a really nice dessert that wasn’t too sweet.

This one gets 5 big YUMMERS and a BIG “good job mamas”

Week 22/52: 15 minutes or less - Pad Krapow Gai

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was 15 minutes or less.

As soon as this challenge was announced I knew immediately I had to make Pad Krapow Gai. This is a Food Wishes recipe and if you don’t already worship at the altar of Chef John I highly encourage it.

This is one of our favorite dinners and one of the few things that genuinely is quick and easy.

With the modern attention economy there’s always lies of “quick and easy” “15 minute dinner” blah blah blah stuff that swears it only takes 15 minutes but with chopping and everything is really more like an hour.

I wanted to hold myself accountable hence the timer in the video.

This one truly can be 15 minutes if you’re actually good at cooking, I clocked in at 22:57 which frankly isn’t bad at all and I’m positive I could do it in 15 if I was sober and better at cooking.

Pro - absolutely delicious

Con - took 22 minutes

But yeah if you want one of the best things you can make that is quick, easy, customizable and awesome. Make some Pad Krapow Gai.

Week 21/52: Symmetry - Strawberry Thumb Print Cookies

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Symmetry.

Gaze upon my cookies.

Gaze upon the fruits of a man doing his best even though he hates baking and sucks at it.

This was a fun one because I actually learned a lot, I’ve historically sucked at baking and avoided it but these turned out awesome.

They turned out so good that I only had the one that I ate on video because the rest got eaten at the tattoo shop.

While I still don’t LIKE baking stuff (and obviously can’t do it pretty or symmetrically) I do think I owe it to myself and the people around me to bake more stuff.

I’m excited to make these again sometime and experiment with different jams, jellies and preserves. If I can do it anyone can.

Seriously. Anyone can.

Week 20/52: Jams and Jellies - Swedish Meatballs

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Jams and Jellies.

To the initiated you might hear jams and jellies and go “oh what does that have to do with Swedish meatballs”

And you’re just telling on yourself and your lack of (meat)ball knowledge because any true ball guzzler KNOWS you simply must have lingonberry jam on top.

We go through about half a jar every time we make these and it’s worth every drop.

If you haven’t tried it; I highly encourage it. It will change your life.

These are also super easy. Great with potatos or buttered noodles and frankly one of our favorite dinners.

We hit this several times a year and it’s always a treat.

Ignore the unwiped plate in the photo, I couldn’t wait to get into these mfers.

Week 18/52: Bucket List Destination - Huli Huli Chicken with Mac Salad (Hawaii)

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Bucket List Destination.

I absolutely LOVE Hawaiian Food but I don’t think I would have ever gotten the chance to love it if I didn’t accidentally fall into a large community of Hawaiians.

A couple times a year at some of my best friends house I’m lucky enough to hang out with their big ass Hawaiian family and at this point it’s been going on for well over a decade.

Unfortunately this week a member of that family and community passed away.

This definitely wasn’t a “tribute dinner” or anything, just a crazy and sad coincidence. To make something I love that was “given to me” the day before one of the people responsible for the gift passed.

I think it can also be a reminder that food and culture is way more than just something you eat. It’s a living testament to friendship, tradition, family and community.

I’ll never eat Hawaiian food without a smile on my face.

And I’ll never eat Hawaiian food again without thinking of Kaipo, my best friends and their big ass Hawaiian family that’s kind of enough to make me feel part of it every holiday.