Journal

2011 - Week 28 Cooking

Week 28 all ready?  I had a good old time at the market.  I was a bit late since the KUNI 101.7 (Des Moines Based) apparently was not broadcasting.  So My normal 6:AM alarm call, was a surprise from Shannon as she told me that I had overslept.  I guess I needed the sleep though, after a quick prep, I was out the door and headed out to the market.  I got a nice bunch of stuff from the market.  Sage chevere with blackberry Jam, eggs, chicken breasts, grass fed ground beef, garlic, new potatoes, onion, young leeks, salad green mix, and a little breakfast of a La Mie ham and swiss croissant.  After a few times of feeling a little blah at the market, things are really starting to come in.  And perhaps the extra sleep made me less of a grump.  Either way I felt (and still feel) pretty good.

The evening of my birthday, I had a large chunk of my family (~20 total including siblings, in-laws, parents, nieces and nephews).  It was pretty nice.  I still owe this journal a birthday post, but I've been busy.  So Anyways:

  • Salsa Burgers
  • Sauteed Chicken salad with fried leeks
  • Yeasty Waffles (p30 July 2011 Food & Wine)
  • Lettuce Cups with Stir-Fried Chicken (p42 June 2011 Bon Appétit)
  • Perfect Scrambled Eggs (p19 July & August 2011 Cook's Illustrated)
  • Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza

2011 - Week 27 Cooking Results

Barbacoa Pizza

So this is what I was talking about.  We got the dough, sauce (instead of oregano, I used red pepper flakes), the last of the barbacoa, uncooked tomatoes and onions and topped with a mixture of sour cream and Juan O'Sullivan's Tamatillo Salsa de Mesa.  I cut down the nozzle on the squeeze bottle so it was wider so I didn't have the clogging problem like I did last time around.  Put together, this added up to be quite the delicious combination.  I think maybe I need to adjust the salsa de mesa and sour cream mixture (more salsa de mesa), but I'm pretty happy over all, it was really the flavor profile that I was looking for.

Barbacoa Pizza

Yeasty Waffles (p30 July 2011 Food & Wine)

So I made the batter the same night that I made the pizza dough, and the let it wait for Wednesday.  Then fed Joseph (up for the Matisyahu concert).  So I stuck them aside and left them for Shannon.  I think it turned out pretty well, but I would like to try them again, just for the soul purpose of not doing the fridge thing, just letting it rise on its own for less time.  They turned out pretty good though.  I think I'll add the book they're from to my want list.

Frittata with Goat & Pork Sausage, baby arugula

So I left work a bit late (Thursday (my birthday)) because I wanted to get something of my plate, so I wouldn't forget it for the next day (as it sometimes happens).  So when I got home, I figured I wouldn't have the time to make the pizza, as I planned (since the dough wouldn't have enough time to warm up, by the time that we would eat.  And I didn't really feel up to making a frittata, so I took some of the quark that I had bought from The Cheese Shop of Des Moines.  So I mixed 'em together, and ended up with some good and tasty scrambled eggs.  The Goat and Pork sausage tasted more goaty this time around, so maybe there is a nice mixture in there.  combined with toast, and it made for a good, if simple birthday dinner.

Perfect Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs (p42 June 2011 Bon Appétit)

So I've made chicken thighs like this before, but I have to say the minutes on the recipe seem a bit messed up, especially on the frying.  So two of them turned out a delicious golden brown and two (the ones I ate) were a bit over done on the skin.  The skin on the two I made for Shannon was divine, mine, not so much.  With a simple salad of Feta and a mix of greens from the farmers market.

Perfect Pan Roasted Chicken ThighsSo a few weeks back I made some mocha frosted chocolate cupcakes for Holly's birthday (after making a disastrously ugly, yet tasty cake).  So in thinking about the process last time around I thought I could add the instant espresso powder to the cake as well.  So they're made, but I haven't tried them yet (I'll probably split one with Shannon here in a bit), but they sure look pretty (I didn't use any fridge time in the frosting, which seems to have nice consistency).  So we'll see how they turn out.

Double Mocha CupcakesLast week's Farmer's Market, I bought some quail eggs.  After learning how to open them (thank you internets, you cut them with a knife, and I'm not kidding), I put them on some grass feed beef from Coyote Run Farm.  First of I have to say that the quail eggs are just beautiful.

Beutiful quail eggs from Fox Hollow

So it took me 9 eggs to get 6 unbroken yolks, but when I made just fried quails eggs on toast later, 6/6 were unbroken.  I used the broken yolks and combined them with the beef.  I have to say that this turned out great and looked great too.

Grass fed beef, quails eggs, Prairie Dawn cheese, greens, tomatoes, and pickles.deliciousness contained inside

2011 - Week 26 Cooking Results

Taco Pizza (Leftover Barbacoa, other things)

By the time I made this, the other things from the Taco Pizza were mostly gone, but even with that it ended up working pretty well, though I did have my complaints.  First, I was using another brand of whole canned tomatoes and these tomatoes, amazingly enough, we're not punctured at all, which left quite a bit of liquid in the tomatoes.  I wasn't sure if the first can was just had a little more then the others, or perhaps it was some other variables, but on making the second pizza last week, it was just too much liquid, so, as a note, I will have to make sure to puncture the tomatoes to get rid of at least some of the juice in there, otherwise the sauce ends up being a bit runny.

On the note, the Barbacoa went on top of the pizza well, I used a simple mixture of some Mexican style cheeses (from a bag), pepper jack and some parmesan and then I topped it with, after it had finished cooking, with some Juan O'Sullivan's tomatillo table sauce (only make once or twice a year).  And it tasted pretty good, but it seemed a little incomplete.

Barbacoa Pizza with Juan O'Sullivan's tomatillo Table SauceSo firstly, I was hoping for nice clean lines on the pizza, but the hole of the squeeze bottle was a bit to small.  Now going back and thinking about it, talking with my wife a bit later, I thought that perhaps if I mixed the sauce and some sour cream, I'd get the nice cool sour cream flavor with the spiciness and color of the sauce.  It should work out pretty well, at least I would hope so.

Later in the week I used some of the other things that I had bought for to make a nice simple sausage and pepperoni pizza.

Sausage and pepperoni PizzaThis also had a little runny sauce, as I stated above, but was still pretty good.  I suppose the worst thing about making pizza in the summer is turning the oven up to 500º in the kitchen, next to the thermometer for the house in the dining room.  I've raised the temperature in the kitchen thermometer (one with an outdoor sensor) by 10º, and the house thermometer by 5º or 6º.  So then it takes quite a bit of energy to cool down the house again.

Grass fed beef burgers (new product at Hy-Vee, who knew?)

These were pretty good, but I still like to know who my meat came from, it makes me more comfortable.  Anyways, worth a try, and hope they stay as a stock item.

For the rest of the week we had a variation on leftovers (tacos, taco salad) and then went down to get some bratwurst last night.

2011 - Week 26 Cooking

So this week is going to be a lot of leftovers, I think.  And using stuff out of the freezer.  It's just that kind of week.  Beyond that:

  • Taco Pizza (Leftover Barbacoa, other things)
  • Grass fed beef burgers (new product at Hy-Vee, who knew?)

2011 - Week 25 Cooking Results

Chevre omelets with goat and pork sausage (La Ventrosa Ranch)

I may have overcooked them a little, but they still turned out pretty good.  The chevre held its own agianst the eggs, and if it was a stronger version of the cheese (like I've had from mass market producers) would have been way to strong.  Even as I think about it, I should have figured out a way to spread it out a bit better, but that is hard to do when the eggs are still a bit runny.  On the other side of the plate, the goat and pork sausage, should really be pork and goat sausage.  It really kind of tasted more porky then goaty.  I still have more, so I will try it again, just to see how it turns out.

Chevre Omelet

Coyote Run Farm's Grain finished hamburgers

So both types of the hamburgers turned out well and they are always there at the market, so they may end up being my vendor of choice.  I will have to see what other kinds of meat that I can get from them.  And they do have some of the other more non-traditional cuts.  I topped them with some beautiful blue cheese.  It the cheese was pretty mild as blues go, but had a good flavor.  I ended up using it later on some sandwiches.

burger with some wonderful blue cheese.

Eden Farms Hot Dogs

These were a nice easy meal after mowing the lawn.  I hate mowing the lawn, but I do like that Hy-Vee now carries these.  At least the ones around here.

Spicy Pork Po' Boys

These weren't really spicy (some, but not a lot), but they were messy (which was still fine).  So with that they cooked up nice and we ate them.  I'd make them again, but would probably spice them up a bit more.

Rice and Beans with Fried Eggs

The rice cooked up nice.  I did this while I was attempting to make a cake.  When I got to a good stopping point I made fried eggs.  I left them a bit too long, because I meant to have a nice runny yolk, and had a more gelatinous yolk.

Rice and Beans with Fried Eggs

Pizza-palooza (Sister, sister in law, and my nephews will be stopping by)

So after much discussing (thanks to various people), and trying to avoid wheat (sister) and avoid lactose and red peppers (niece), I concluded that pizza was probably a non-starter.  So I knew I had some pork shoulder left (some of the last of my Eden Farms pork) and I figured I could try some Barbacoa, but then I had to remember that not all families are used to the spice level that we are, so I had to dial it back a bit.  So I tried to be careful.  So I got both masa and flour tortillas, some more Coyote Run Farm beef, tomatoes, salad greens, and salsa at the market.  I had to augment the pork a little with some normal pork (sigh) and so I went and picked up some, plus a few more things.  Anyways, everything came together very well.  Everyone seemed happy, all versions where well received (mild beef, spicier bean dish and clearly I need to add more spice to Barbacoa).  Kids ate quickly, and the adults lingered a bit.  Shortly after dinner, the RV headed out and off to Cedar Rapids.  It was nice to visit with my family.

Triple options (Barbacoa in front, beans in middle, beef in the back)

Cupcakes

So when Chris and Holly were on their way back from a vacation, I got a call from Chris, asking about making a cake, and I resisted, I've never had that good of luck with cakes, they end up tasting good, but I've never been thrilled with the way they look (cookies can look great even if they're not totally perfect), but I volunteered to help them out and make Holly a cake for her birthday.  Not wanting it to be too old I waitied until Thursday to make it for the party on Friday.  So I had an idea that I have this instant espresso powder (I used it for some recipie a while a go) and figured hey I can use this to make the desired Mocha cake.  It turned out pretty well, frosting wise, (I used 2 teaspoons for 1 cup of cream).  So I was up late on Thursday and finished around 12:30 or so.

I wasn't happy.  I didn't sleep well, and I obsessing over it while I was working, I even was debating going to work, all the way up until I got into the car.  So I emailed my boss, telling him that I was leaving work a bit early, and if he wanted me to take the day off, I would (he didn't make me), and went home to make cupcakes.

The cupcakes, I ratcheted up the espresso powder for the frosting (1 teaspoon for every 1/3rd cup of cream used).  They turned out very good.  People seemed to enjoy them (some even took extra home).

Chocolate cupcakes with mocha frosting and chocolate shavings

After the dinner, a few headed back to their house and we played a game.  At that point, we sampled the ugly cake (I had dropped it of on our way over to the restaurant).  It was pretty good too, if you can get past the looks.  I had further thoughts on how I could make a mocha cake, because this cake called for hot water to be added at the very end (bloom the chocolate perhaps?), and I thought, hey, that hot water could have espresso powder in it.  So perhaps I'll try it again, and maybe make these a little pick me up cake.

Sorbet

too tart strawberry lime sorbetSo I made this sorbet on this past Sunday...after tasting it, clearly it was to tart, however we haven't had a chance to implement any of the thoughts I had about it.  So other then that I made it and haven't had a chance to make the iced tea or a drink, I don't really have that much to say I suppose.  Other then that, even with practice, you can still fail, lots.

2011 - Week 24 Cooking Results

Cheddar-and-Onion Smashed Burgers (p21 June 2011 Find and Wine)

I kind of vaguely glanced at the recipe while making this, but only vaguely, I kind of just followed the process.  I used some Dunbarton Blue that I picked up from the farmer's market stand of The Cheese Shop of Des Moines.  We, of course, sampled the cheese before hand, but it worked out really well.  A very nice combination of flavors.  I had bread and butter pickles on my burger and I really do prefer dill for most things, but this worked out pretty well, and made me think that I may want to investigate how it can add to other types of sandwiches where I would generally prefer dill.

Dunbarton Blue and Onion (can't see) Smashed burger

Barbecued-Pork Burritos with Chopped Salad

I followed this to some extent, again, not feeling like I needed to follow it too closely.  I reduced the size so I had enough to feed us both, and it worked out well.  It was pretty simple and gave me ideas on cook pork loin (I used loin instead of tenderloin).  Though I do think there was far to much BBQ sauce or perhaps I needed to chop the pork smaller, but it was a bit too much.

Barbecued Pork Burritos with Chopped Salad

Flatbread with Mediterranean style lamb or vegetarian dishes with a harissa yogurt sauce.

So I had an intention to make flatbread, and I plan to, sometime, cause I don't imagine it's that hard, but on Monday, after making dinner, I didn't feel up to spending a while longer in the kitchen making flatbread, so I bought some instead.  I couldn't find harissa sauce either, and even though I found a recipe for it, I didn't really want to go through the trouble of making it.  So what I ended up doing is picking up some African Rhino Peri Peri Sauce and going from there.  So I made two versions, the vegetarian version skipped the first step and used olive oil for the oil.

  1. Ground lamb (about a pound and a half), over medium high heat, until mostly done, meat taken out of pan, lamb fat left behind)
  2. diced White onion (vegetarian start here) in olive oil (as needed)
  3. Add Garlic (I used about 2 garlic cloves) sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant
  4. Add Spices.  I used cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and coriander.  I couldn't tell you how much, but it ranged from 1/2 a teaspoon to a tablespoon, depending on how it tasted.
  5. Add diced red pepper, sauté for a few more minutes
  6. Added a can of diced tomatoes (with liquid) and chick peas (I don't remember if I rinsed these or not, but looking at it, I'm guessing the liquid went in as well) and a bit of tomato paste.
  7. Then add in the peri peri sauce to taste (between the two dishes, and the yogurt sauce, I used about 3/4ths a bottle)
  8. top with cilantro

For a yogurt sauce, I used some Greek yogurt and sauce to make a little spicy yogurt sauce for topping.  So combined with the flatbread, the sauce and the stewish like dish, it all ended up pretty good.  Especially for not following any sort of recipe.

Vegetarian versionLamb versionFor this dinner I also served some strawberry ice cream with chocolate shavings.  This also turned out well.  This time, when cooking the strawberries, I let it be heated for a bit longer, for the reason that in the last batch some of the strawberry chunks seemed to retrained a bit to much water and when frozen ended up with ice crystals that were a bit off putting.  With cooking down a bit longer, smaller pieces, less to have ice crystals.  I used half of a 70% chocolate bar, by shaving it with a vegetable peeler.  It really turned out very good.

Scoops of Strawberry Ice Cream with Chocolate Shavings

Shows the evenly distributed chocolate

Pancakes with Strawberries

So because I bought the tortillas knowing that the expiration date was very soon (they were 75% off) and the type that I normally buy, made here in Des Moines.  So pushed the pancakes back, meaning that the strawberries were no longer going to be good, so it was just pancakes.  But good none the less.

Bratwurst

nom.

Veggie Pizza (want to try this again)

This time I sued my 12" pan, which gave me  plenty of space and I sautéd the veggies for quite a while getting rid of a lot of the liquid.  So that was the good.  On the bad side instead of using a hot sauce to augment the tomato sauce flavor, I used chili powder...and this then over powered everything else.  So a win in one direction, and a set back in another.  It still looked good.

2011 - Week 23 Cooking Results

So I am being a bit brief here, but I never feel up to much after I mow the lawn.

Veggie Pizza (want to try this again)

So when it got to Friday, it turned out that I didn't really want to do this, so I used the rest of the leftover pepperoni I had and had that instead.  I thought about added some of the vegetables to it, but then didn't.  That with some beer, topped off a week that was all over the place.  I did get the crust nice and crisp, so I was pretty happy.

This is not the veggie pizza you are looking for.

Coyote Run Farms Hamburgers

I liked this beef.  I remember having it before and remember liking it and it is really good.  I should ask, if I remember at the market, for the general fat percentage.  Though the grind is a too small, it does make for a good burger.

Vietnamese-Style Beef with Garlic, Black Pepper, and Lime (p21 June/July 2011 Fine Cooking)

This was delicious.  Even though the butcher had to break out a new slab of meat to get me the cut that I wanted (I end up doing this a surprising amount of time).  It was such a simple looking dish, and came together very quickly.  Shannon had it plain, I topped mine off with a bit of Siracha  It didn't really need the heat.  But was still delicious.

Vietnamese Style Beef with Garlic, Black Pepper and Lime

Bacon and Leek Soufflé (p18 June/July 2011 Fine Cooking)

I'm pretty sure this was underdone, though I don't have a whole lot of experience to address on if it was under done.  I think the sides were the fluffy nature that they were supposed to be, however the center wasn't really like that.  Shannon wasn't sold on the texture, but that's cause I think it was underdone.  I think I may try this again, or some other soufflé.  This did take a while to get together, but I was also feeling a bit sluggish that night as well.

Poor lighting condition and under done soufflé

Pounded Chicken Sandwiches

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM, FRY FRY FRY.  Dinner!  It's always a quick dinner, and generally a good one, and this chicken stood up well and I cooked it pretty well.  I'm happy how this turned out.