Journal

2010 - Week 23 Cooking

The farmers market this week was very lightly attended, at least early.  Thought that was probably due to the fact that it was raining.  Even though the hardest rain was to the south of the metro (when we went to Shannon's Co-Worker's wedding reception in Norwalk, we heard how they had to pull the poles of the tent out of the ground because they sank in), it kept those who are not so dedicated away.  I bought many of my normal things, but got a whole chicken from the same people that I bought a duck from. This was their first selection of chickens for the season.  So the chicken has never been frozen.  How's that for fresh?  The omelettes?  My idea, the addition of the feta?  Shannon's.  I do love my wife.

2010 - Week 22 Cooking Results

Southwestern Chicken Lime Hash (Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter)

I made this last night and it actually worked out well.  I think this was more what I intended when I made the Scrambled eggs with Ham (from last week), potatoes and onions a bit ago.  I switched up the chicken for some ground turkey (I shopped at the tiny Dahl's near my house, which didn't have the ground chicken, instead of the Hy-Vee, because I went to Gateway Market first, so it made it on my way home from work).  Even so I made a bit to much, so I still have some raw mixture which I imagine I'll make myself for breakfast some time this week.  But good, quite a bit of prep work though, but after the prep was done, it all came together very quickly.

Eden Farms Pork Burgers

Luckily for me, when I made this, it was a cooling down outside.  To get that nice crust I've been generating on the outside of the burgers, I had it going as the light smoke started to fill the main level of the house.  So I turned off the air, open the windows, and let the smoke leave.  I really wonder what it would cost to put in a real vent fan in the kitchen.  The chimney that's there, obviously doesn't do much.  Anyways, good as always.

Penne with Ricotta, Arugula, and Basil (p23 June/July 2010 Fine Cooking)

I find it interesting how a clamshell full of arugula reduces down to a tiny amount when you sweat out the water for a bit.  This was pretty good.  I have to say that I'm not the biggest fan of the way spinach, arugula and other items reduce to when you put 'em in a pan.  I don't like that kind of slimy texture that they have.  Even so, it tasted a bit of lemons, savory and fresh, so it was still good.

Bratwurst

I picked up a couple of styles of sausages from Gateway Market.  They had a couple of chicken based ones (regular and jalapeno I think) and a salmon one I think...or some sort of fish.  Anyways, I served the salmon one with some leftover tartar sauce and the others like a normal sausage.  They were pretty good, but all I could think about, really, was the Wickle's Hoagie Relish, which is like my crack.

2010 - Week 22 Cooking

In order to sort of streamline how I end up doing things, when I complete a cooking magazine I make notations of what I want to do out of it, and put them in a similar fashion that they are listed here, all ready to copy and paste into the posting for the week. Which should trim down the time that it generally takes me to make the list before the grocery list.

2010 - Week 21 Cooking Results

Skillet Macaroni with Zesty Meat Sauce (RC June/July 2010 Cook's Country)

This turned out well, though I did use more pasta then the recipe called for (it wanted 12oz, I used the whole pound).

Caramelized Onion, Gruyère, and Sausage Panini (p19 June/July 2010 Fine Cooking)

It was a nice way to use a chicken sausage, It gave me a few thoughts on what to do in the future...

Egg Sandwiches

Gotta love this simple dish...

Spinach salad with carrots, onions, tomatoes, chicken and mozzarella

This worked...though the dressing I made was far to tart for Shannon (I was fine with it, but I also like sea salt and vinegar chips and etc). Though I did have one thing here. In the spinach that I've been buying from the market, I always need to trim the leaves...which I didn't do, but even so, it was still pretty good.

Ground Lamb, Farro, tomatoes, and onions

This actually turned out like I wanted. It used a bit of the Farro and I poured a bunch of other leftovers in there too (cleaned out my fridge of a lot of things). It worked well...though I cannot remember quite what was in there now...

Eden Farms Pork Burgers with Amish Potato Salad (p11 June/July 2010 Cook's Country)

The day I planed to make this (and take up to James' party), tragic events occurred, and I didn't feel like cooking (or moving), so Shannon went down to Gateway and brought back dinner for us.

I will make the potato salad again sometime.

2010 - Week 20 Cooking Results

Flatbread (leftover from game night) Pizza (sauce leftover from veal burgers, pepperoni leftover from me buying it a while back)

It made for a super quick dinner. And turned out pretty well. Nothing really that special, but still pretty nice.

Flatbread with hummus (both leftover from game night), lamb (bought a while back, and a yogurt sauce)

The flatbread is great warmed. And with the lamb, onion garlic and tomato combo it really made for a good quick dinner.

Eden Farms Pork Burgers

So in the second time in making these, I am very curious as to the estimated fat content of these burgers. Usually when I buy pork from the store I have to use a little olive oil to get it to not totally stick to the pan. These, not so much. They expel a whole lot pork fat, which is nice...but perhaps a little less fat per pound...but I'm not sure yet.

Scrambled eggs with Ham (from last week), potatoes and onions

This did not turn out like I wanted. Thought it still tasted good, I think I should've cooked it in a non stick pan perhaps...

Reduced-Fat Fried Fish with Tarter Sauce (p4 June and July 2010 Cook's Country)

This actually turned out quite well. Though I was a little miffed by the fish. "Fish may contain bones." Really? The giant bones that look like they were sawed through? They may be there? Anyways, I did have to adjust the recipe a bit, because I ran out of eggs, but even so, it worked well. Crunchy on the outside, and a nice fish on the inside, it worked very well.

2010 - Week 20 Cooking

This is going to be a week of leftovers. At least as much as I can do... For game night I bought some flatbread from Proof's new stand at the farmers market. The idea was to use it with the hummus that I made. I wasn't feeling great, so I didn't want to spend a large amount of time making baked goods or something. I did slice them up and used one of the two bags that I bought for it. It turned out well.

  • Flatbread (leftover from game night) Pizza (sauce leftover from veal burgers, pepperoni leftover from me buying it a while back)
  • Flatbread with hummus (both leftover from game night), lamb (bought a while back, and a yogurt sauce
  • Eden Farms Pork Burgers
  • Scrambled eggs with Ham (from last week), potatoes and onions
  • Reduced-Fat Fried Fish with Tarter Sauce (p4 June and July 2010 Cook's Country)

2010 - Week 19 Cooking Results

Chive Blossom Dinner

So this turned out pretty well. Chris and Holly came over and their friend April and Alisha (who came up to get married, so congrats to them). Almost every component of the dinner worked well. And all the components that I made, except the ham, had chive blossoms in them.

So here's a bowl full of chive blossoms, that I used throughout the dinner:

Chive Blossoms

And then the whole dinner:

Chive Blossom Dinner

Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Black Forest Ham

This was a pretty good ham. I really have enjoyed eating it and serving it.

Chive Blossom Mashed Potatoes with Young Gouda

Cream + sour cream + chive blossoms. I did however forget to add in the cheese (I had grated it already), so we topped it with it later, which still worked well.

Chive Blossom Biscuits (based on these)

Chive blossoms + bacon and biscuits...delicious. I was happy with how these turned out. I used a few slices of the Vande Rose Farms bacon along with the other ingredients. I really do love that bacon.

Quick Braised Baby Carrots with Honey, Chive Blossoms and Lemon Juice

This was the only part of the dinner that I wasn't thrilled about. I had a concept in my mind, and it just didn't pan out like I thought. It wasn't bad, per se, just not that good.

Fresh Spinach salad with Baby Carrots, chive blossoms, and feta

This was a good mix. I was hoping that Lois would have the Chive Blossom feta, but even so it was a good combination of ingredients.

Holly also brought a salad as well, which was also good.

Veal Burgers

These were nice. I used fresh mozzarella from Lucca, a little tomato sauce combined together to make a nice little burger.

Buttermilk Waffles (p25 May and June 2010 Cook's Illustrated) with strawberries

I made lots of extras, put them in the freezer so we could have them for random breakfasts. The strawberries, however, had gotten moldy in the single day since I bought them. I was a bit miffed. Anyways, I've made 'em before and I'll make 'em again (I still have some of the dried buttermilk left).

Left over Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Black Forest Ham Sandwiches

I think I had ham sandwiches once for dinner, and then 4 times for lunch...and yet, I still love ham.

Fried Duck Eggs on toast

This was simple and turned out well. The duck egg yolks were huge in comparison to the whites. They also tasted a little different from eggs. A bit richer...

Reduced-Fat Fried Fish with Tarter Sauce (p4 June and July 2010 Cook's Country)

I was going to make this Friday, but forgot to take the fish out of the freezer...so it'll be on next week's menu.

2010 - Week 19 Cooking

So due to recent events, the budget for food is being cut back a bit (since it is, by far and away our highest discretionary spending). I have reduced my weekly budget for the farmer's market by 1/3rd and I'll try to be a bit wiser in my decisions as to what I pick out at the grocery store. I did get a good haul none the less. I showed Holly and her friends around the market, as best I could. Afterward we went over to the Architectural Salvage.

That being said, with the blossoming of the chives (originally from my mother's garden), I plan on doing a chive blossom dinner. And how can I do this dinner and still be inexpensive? Well most of the non-ham stuff is relatively inexpensive, the ham was already bought...so...

  • Chive Blossom Dinner
  • Reduced-Fat Fried Fish with Tarter Sauce (p4 June and July 2010 Cook's Country)
  • Buttermilk Waffles (p25 May and June 2010 Cook's Illustrated) with strawberries
  • Fried Duck Eggs on toast
  • Veal Burgers
  • Left over Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Black Forest Ham Sandwiches

2010 - Week 18 Cooking Results

Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Applewood Smoked hot dogs

Made many times before, and still very very good.

Eden Farms Berkshire Pork burgers

So this was the first time the fine people at Eden Farms had ground pork as an offering. I got to say that this vs the mass market ground pork you get in the store is a big difference. It actually gave off quite a bit more juice then the far too lean pork, so I may have over oiled it. Even so, they turned out great. I made two smaller burgers for each of us, one that we can have plain (to really taste it by itself) and then one we can dress up a bit.

I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I bought two more pounds.

Tuna Empanada (p107 Bon Appétit May 2010)

Tuna + Prosciutto? Pretty good combination, however, I think a little bit of smoked paprika could've gone a long way to bring it all together. Maybe if I could've used some serrano ham, that would've made a bit of a difference... So this was OK, but I think it could've been better.

Curried Pea Frittata with Fresh Tomato Chutney

I made this for dinner for movie night. I think it turned out pretty well. The curry powder gave the eggs a slightly odd color. Still it was pretty quick to make, so much so I took a half hour break from when I started, and still got done early...

Grilled Chicken Breasts and Chipotle-Cilantro Carrots with Feta (p69 Bon Appétit May 2010)

It's the time of the year where there are so many of the interesting things want to be grilled...but I don't have a grill. At least not one that works... So I did a presto chango, and I sautéed it up. The fresh carrots are pretty good. Overall I think it still turned out well.

Beef Empanadas (p15 May and June 2010 Cook's Illustrated)

So I made the filling, in the middle I read down to the dough and it said it also wanted to use the food processor, so I quick loaded the dishwasher and ran them. While the dishwasher ran, I finished the filling, and put it in the fridge and took a break.

After things were washed, I went up and made the dough. Which required to me to use tequila...and so what do I do? I use Cabo Wabo tequila... I think there is other tequila in the cupboard, but it was the first one I saw, so there it went.

I think it turned out great, we topped it with a little Juan O'Sullivan's Salsa de Mesa Hot Sauce.

We've got quite a number of leftovers. I hope that they microwave well.