Journal

2013 - Week 3 Cooking Results

Beef and Barley Soup for Two (p28 Cook's Country December / January 2013)

Simple to put together, nice for a chilly evening, and not to much in the way of leftovers. I don't know about the statement for two, though I suppose it allows for a bigger bowl then what we had.

Omaha Steak's Hot Dogs (Just getting rid of them now)

Lucky for me, they didn't have anything in the package, so I ended up, buying some bratwurst.  So much better.

Omaha Steak's Burgers (Just getting rid of them now)

Added a bit more of the seasoning, and then it crossed a line.  So now not only did it not only have no beef flavor, it had to much of the dry crappy spice taste.  You can't win...you really can't.

Poulet Rouge Roast Chicken (Foxhollow)

Slow roasted.  I probably should have brined it first.  Over all, had an excellent taste.  I'm pretty happy with it.  I used some of the leftover chicken in the chicken salad.

Chicken Salad (I got a hankering)

A little chicken, some spices, some veggies, a little relish, an to inject some savoriness into it, a little Echo Mountain Blue from the Cheese Shop chopped up and added to the salad mixture.  Good stuffs.

Curried Split Pea Soup (adding Ham too)

Added a bit more liquid to account for the additional 1/4th pound of split peas, and perhaps I added a bit to much, but really, what the hell would I do with a 1/4th pound of split peas?  With the added ham and ham hocks it made for a good meal.  I used the leftover curry paste that I had, but ti didn't seem to stand out to much, perhaps I should've used more.  Even so, it ended up being a pretty good soup.

For game night I made some crackers.  This is my first attempt, I have been thinking about them for a long time.  They were a bit thick, but certainly a good start, because they had a nice taste to them.  I'll have to try again.

2013 - Week 3 Cooking

  • Beef and Barley Soup for Two (p28 Cook's Country December / January 2013)
  • Omaha Steak's Hot Dogs (Just getting rid of them now)
  • Omaha Steak's Burgers (Just getting rid of them now)
  • Poulet Rouge Roast Chicken (Foxhollow)
  • Chicken Salad (I got a hankering)
  • Curried Split Pea Soup (adding Ham too)

    • 2013 - Week 2 Cooking Results

    Skillet Teriyaki Beef and Vegetables (RC Cook's Country December / January 2013)

    This turned out very well.  It was nice, balanced and tasty.  And pretty easy to put together.  It would've been even easier if I had not used the smaller carrots that I got from a local provider.

    Beef and Barley Soup for Two (p28 Cook's Country December / January 2013)

    Skipped for working on the lego project, doing next week.

    Chorizo Tacos

    So I heard at the cheese shop that a combination of Quark and Chorizo was very good.  They know their business there so I figured I'd give it a try.  So I combined Mexican style chorizo, onions, tomatoes, peppers and rice (I had left over rice).  Added with the quark, some spinach and a little yogurt on a soft tortilla.  They're right, this is really damn fantastic.  Good show, very good show.

    Omaha Steak's Hot Dogs

    meh.  Eden Farms still wins, this doesn't even come close.  Slightly above Oscar Meyer.

    Omaha Steak's Burgers (try again)

    I added the seasoning that I got with the box telling me that I had free stuff from Omaha Steaks.  this improved it a bit, but they're still quite bleah.

    Poulet Rouge Roast Chicken (Foxhollow)

    We had a late lunch with some friends at Woody's Smoke Shack (those ribs, damn they're good) and dessert at La Mie.  By the time we got done, and headed out to do errands  we weren't hungry for a large dinner, so we had one full of cheese, some La Mie bread.  Good stuffs.

    2013 - Week 2 Cooking

    • Skillet Teriyaki Beef and Vegetables (RC Cook's Country December / January 2013)
    • Beef and Barley Soup for Two (p28 Cook's Country December / January 2013)
    • Chorizo Tacos
    • Omaha Steak's Hot Dogs
    • Omaha Steak's Burgers (try again)
    • Poulet Rouge Roast Chicken (Foxhollow)

    2012 - Week 53 Cooking / 2013 - Week 1 Cooking Results

    Corn Soup with Potatoes and Smoked Ham

    Simple to make, I used the last of my Applewood Smoked Iowa White Spread (La Quercia) and a chunk of well smoked ham and you end up with a nice simple soup that makes for a good meal on a cold Sunday eve.

    Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (RC Cook's Country December / January 2013)

    So Shannon got home late, and when I said I was going to make soup, I got a bit of push back because there was an assumption that it woud take forever to do.  This came together pretty quickly.  And tasted pretty good to.  In fact, I still have another sweet potato, so I might make this again.

    Skillet Teriyaki Beef and Vegetables (RC Cook's Country December / January 2013)

    Pushed to next week.

    Reduced Fat General Tso's Chicken (p29 Cook's Country December / January 2013)

    My figure shows that I don't generally like reduced fat anything.  This, however, turned out very well.  Bringing everything together to a bit longer then I expected, but when it came down to it, it was still pretty speedy.  It tastes similar (but better) to what you'd order from the take out Chinese place.

    Well's Fargo provided, Omaha Steak's Burgers

    These were kind of pathetic.  It didn't stand up to the bacon, nor the Dunbarton Blue cheese.  Quite disappointing.

    2012 - Week 53 Cooking / 2013 - Week 1 Cooking

    Who would've guessed that 2012 had 53 Sundays?  So here we are at the end of one year and the start of another.  Lots of cooking done, lots of time passed some new things tried, some massive quantities of baking done.  A good year overall, cooking wise.  I've gone up and down in cycles of busyness and interest.  I'll get way behind in my magazines  catch up, get way behind, and catch up.  I added Lucky Peach to my food input (which I actually read, not just skim).  I still have a pile of cookbooks to get through (skimming/reading) and my list of books that I think I should read and want to read also has grown to near unmanageable levels (even with that there had been a large block of time where little to no progress was made, for a reasonable reason).

    If I have time I'm going to try to break down my food spending, just because I find the idea interesting.  Yes, clearly we are in a position where we can make choices that many people can't about where our food comes from and the sometimes excessive amount of money that we are able to spend to make those choices.

    We are in the middle of the winter, and the two things I miss the most are fresh greens (spinach, arugula, etc) and eggs.  Eggs that were laid a day or two before, rather then at some undetermined date.  There is a clear difference, not to mention the treatment of the chickens.

    • Corn Soup with Potatoes and Smoked Ham
    • Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (RC Cook's Country December / January 2013)
    • Skillet Teriyaki Beef and Vegetables (RC Cook's Country December / January 2013)
    • Reduced Fat General Tso's Chicken (p29 Cook's Country December / January 2013)
    • Well's Fargo provided, Omaha Steak's Burgers