Journal

2013 - Week 24 Cooking

This past week I had the opportunity to see both They Might be Giants and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band live for the first time.  On the TMBG side, I got the privilege of a Flood show (in reverse) , on the PHJB (doesn't work as well), I got to see some really good live jazz.  I was happy to go to both.

 

2013 - Week 23 Cooking Results

Indian-Style Mustard Greens with spiced ground pork on Naan or Pita

So I halved this recipe, and then had to half it again as I pour out the greens and I did it to fast and a good chunk of them ended up in the sink and not in the strainer.  I was a bit frustrated, but rolled with it.  The combination with this and the madrass curry powder infused pork topped with a bit of yogurt, was a good meal.  Spicy, but not to so, and a nice mouth full of flavors to ponder on.

Seared Mahi Mahi sandwiches

The fish was still a bit cold, but I was set and moving forward with the fish sandwiches   I made a quick tarter like sauce, and about that quick the dinner was done.  Two more portions of fish to go, next time around must pay better attention where the fish is coming from and be a good customer.  The fish was, perhaps a little over, probably because it started out cold, but still was ok.

Big Fork Maple & Brown Sugar bacon sausages

pretty good, eaten. 

Pork Chops (Crooked Gap)  with mashed potatoes and chives (I want to get the mashed potatoes right)

After the, I'm still dwelling on them, sub-par mashed potatoes, I was truly happy with the combination of sour cream, milk, butter, salt and pepper that made these mashed potatoes truly fantastic.  The chives were cut from the plant on the side of the house less then an hour before they were eaten.  Good stuffs.  Very happy.  I have no idea what the ratios were because I just do it until it feels right and the potatoes were just right too.

The pork chop was very good too.  I timed it better, allowing me enough time to make the mashed potatoes, while the pork chops finished in the oven.

Grass Fed Beef Burgers (Coyote Run Farms)

Simple, made before Joseph and I headed over to see They Might Be Giants .  I added salt and pepper to the beef before I put them in the pan, and it added a nice flavor to it. I served this with Adrahan, which turned out quite well.

Random Chicken Pieces Tacos (a couple of deboned thighs, bone in thighs, and bone in chicken breast)

So when I say random, I mean truly random.  The bone in thighs were already salted and peppered, the chicken breast and the boneless thighs were not.  It was odd to cook, taking the temperature more frequently then I normally would as I slowly took out pieces as the finished.  The boneless thighs were done first and the rest finished about the same time.  After taking the chicken off the bones, normal taco toppings proceeded.

So normal has grown to include Milton Creamery's Quark, which I cannot recommend enough.  Thanks again to Brett at the Cheese Shop for the recommendation.

2013 - Week 23 Cooking

  • ​Indian-Style Mustard Greens with spiced ground pork on Naan or Pita
  • Seared ​Mahi Mahi sandwiches
  • ​Big Fork Maple & Brown Sugar bacon sausages
  • Pork Chops (Crooked Gap)​ with mashed potatoes and chives (I want to get the mashed potatoes right)
  • ​Grass Fed Beef Burgers (Coyote Run Farms)
  • ​Random Chicken Pieces Tacos (a couple of deboned thighs, bone in thighs, and bone in chicken breast)

2013 - Week 22 Cooking Results

Grilled Meatloaf Burgers (RC Cook's Country June / July 2013)

So uh, reading is hard, an clearly I didn't do it.  Cause when I combined all the ingredients and went to look back, I end up needing to top it with a sauce which I had already combined with all the meats.  So...It became sloppy Joe's   I used most of the remaining BBQ sauce that Joseph had made and they turned out pretty good.  Though we didn't have enough bread left in the house.

Chicken Divan (p27 Cook's Country June / July 2013)

This took a bit longer then I thought to make, even when I had prepped everything first.  It did, however, end up tasting really good.  Especially since ended up being a combination of chicken and broccoli, basically.  Since broccoli isn't the most popular ingredient in this house, and we both liked it, the sauce that went with it tied everything together and made it quite tasty.

Open Face Brie, Apple and Arugula Sandwiches

Simple, good and fast.  La Mie ciabatta and some Henri Huton Belletoile Brie (70%).  The Brie had a bit of extra funk, but not to much, so it made for a nice balanced sandwich.

Fettuccine with Sausage and Kale

I made this real quick, before I headed off to the Cheese Shop's Gypsy Beer & Cheese class.  So I made dinner, ate, and then left it warming for Shannon when she got home (she had no desire to sample beers).  It was pretty good.  I used Red Russian Kale from Cleverly Farms.

Open Face Bacon and Egg sandwiches with Arugula

Another simple sandwich, the issue here was I thought I had more bacon (unfrozen) then I did.  So one of them got ham on them.  I've made this before, I'll make it again, though I'll cook or use less of the shallots.

2013 - Week 21 Cooking Results

Pappardelle with Arugula and Prosciutto (p53 May 2013 Bon Appetit)

This turned out ok.  I did get to eat some extra prosciutto which was nice.  Perhaps I didn't follow the directions right, but it was good to eat, not so good as a leftover.  Perhaps i should do this again, it does make a good spring meal.

Grilled Steak Tacos with Spicy Slaw (p13 June / July 2013 Fine Cooking)

I vaguely followed the recipe.  ​The spice rub worked well, even in a pan.  Actually it worked very well.  I did have to put the flank steak back in the pan because it was slightly undercooked, but a minute or two more and it was just above rare and nice, juicy and a bit spicy with the ground ancho pepper from AllSpice.

Turkey-chorizo burgers with guacamole (p14 ​June / July 2013 Fine Cooking)

Ground turkey thighs combined with a bit of fresh chorizo.  It made for a good burger.  The chorizo added fat and spice to the turkey which was for the best.  The guacamole added a nice touch as well.

Spiced Lamb Patties with Apricot Couscous (p16 ​June / July 2013 Fine Cooking)

This was I think ​was the winner for the week.  At least for me.  It was just such a nice combination of ingredients.  A bit of tart, spice and fragrance that was just an enticing combination.  Good stuffs.

Fusilli with Peas and Feta (p17 ​June / July 2013 Fine Cooking)

​I wish I had fresh peas for this.  It was very quick, very simple.  The peas with feta.  Delicious.

There was an extra meal in here.  Someone at the market had berkshire pork.  It tasted pretty good.  I messed up the chive blossom potatoes (undercooked the potatoes a bit), but the pork was perfect.​

2013 - Week 20 Cooking Results

Linguine with Hot Chile, Caramelized Onions, and ​Gremolata

This turend into a sort of garbage pasta, cleaning out the fridge...Maybe I'll make this right sometime.​

Ramp and Sausage Risotto

It has been a while since I've made risotto, and this turned out really well.  I was supposed to use the chopped greens near the end to add extra flavor, but even so it was a nice balance between the Crooked Gap Italian sausage, the ramps and the creamy rice flavor.  It was a nice use of probably the only ramps I'll be able to get this season.

Spring Vegetable & Potato Frittata​ (modified, spring onions)

I skipped the asparagus and the garlic and onion and just did a lot of spring onions and some potatoes.  It came together quickly and tasted very good.  Finished off with a little broiling and we ate away.

Brazilian Chicken Salad Sandwich

I skipped the beets, because I didn't think I could get them beyond Shannon, and as I went upstairs to make it, the only thing she had to say was a warning not to go heavy on the dill.  Luckily for me, there was no dill in here, so it worked out.  The salad itself was ok, maybe it would've been better with the beets, or a bit more spice or ​something.  It wasn't bad, it just wasn't that good.

Pork Burgers

I combined the pork with some of the leftover Italian Sausage and it added a nice bit of spice to the remaining pork.  It made for a good burger.  Even though I hadn't ran out, it's nice to be able to buy it again from Crooked Gap.

Brats with AgriCulture Sauerkraut (new vendor, awful web presence)

​The sauerkraut was good.  I'm not the biggest fan of sauerkraut  so I really wouldn't be able to judge it completely, but if I needed it, I'd prefer this over some of the others that I've used as an ingredient in the past.

2013 - Week 19 Cooking Results

Thin-Crust, Whole-Wheat Pizza with thickened tomato sauce and Lamb Sausage (p24 Cook's Illustrated May & June 2013) (Modified)

​So, I think the dough needed to rest a bit more, or I needed to take it out of the refrigerator a lot earlier.  Since I made this on monday, I didn't take it out until 5:30 or 6, so it just didn't have long enough to warm up before I started stretching it out.  Normally I'll take the dough out around mid-day, so it has hours to come up to room temperature before I start to spread it out.

So the edges of the pizza were puffy, crisp edged and chewy in the middle, which is good, but the middle just didn't have enough volume to counteract the weight of the toppings and liquid above.

So the choice here is to bring it out earlier, reduce the liquid (already added tomato paste to make it thicker), and maybe let it age a bit more to develop more gluten.​

I'll try 1, then 3 then maybe 2, but you can't make pizza sauce too thick.​

Still tasted good, but was just not what I wanted in that middle part, which is very important.​

Bacon, Cheese and Jalapeno Tacos

Quick, tasty and easily repeatable.​  I liked the heat bite of the jalapeños  but understand why Shannon skipped them.

Chicken Enchiladas ​(with general direction)

I say general direction in the sense that I looked at the ingredients and added my own twists.  I used the layering method (simplifies the process, no rolling involved).  I used chicken, salt, pepper, black and pinto beans, cumin, Jalapeno Powder, Chipotle Powder, and onion.  It turned out well, and when you don't have to brown the meat (rotisserie chicken), or roll them, it decreases the time to do it.  Good stuffs.

Linguine with Hot Chile, Caramelized Onions, and ​Gremolata

Delayed until next week, we went to Zombie Burger instead.​

Lamb Bratwurst (Hedgeapple Farm)

These were quite lamby, but we love lamb.  Perhaps it was a bit much?  I dunno, I'm undecided at this time.  Luckily, I have another package to go through.​  Maybe change what we put on it, to match better with lamb?  I'll think on this.

​Fried Egg Pitas with Arugula

​I picked up some tapenade from The Cheese Shop, and this made the recipe really easy.  The only change I made was to shred a bit of Prairie Breeze over everything.  Turned out quite well.  Well enough and easy enough after my first lawn mow of the season (should've done it a week before), I called lazy for making dinner, and still made this for dinner (for the second time that week).  The arugula was from Grade A Gardens.