Journal

2023 - Week 47 Cooking Results

Sausage

Good things.

Noodles with egg

Simple and good. made for quick work.

Egg Sandwiches

So I tried that waffle thing with dressing/stuffing and put eggs on it. It didn’t work that well. The idea of frying the stuffing to get a crispy edge is not a bad one and would probably work better in a pan, at least not be as messy. I put eggs on it.

Grilled Cheese

Added some ham, used some bread I bought at the Coop.

Thanksgiving

Every year we’re getting better at doing this. This year, however a few setbacks ended up annoying me. First, I was preparing the miso butter for the sweet potatoes and due to some various work related things, I lost track of the cooking time and my first batch got a bit overdone. Because of that I had to buy more white miso paste, but because the store didn’t have that, I ended up using yellow. It still turned out ok, but now I have a container of Miso Paste to use as opposed to finishing up the last one.

Second, the vacuum sealer didn’t actually find the pressure to take out the air, and apparently I can’t get next day when I actually needed it. I thought vaguely about going out to buy one, which I’m sure I could’ve, but chose not to. This lead to a cascade of failures. Since I ended up with a whole pork loin (8-9 pounds or so), it was a bit wider and thicker. Because I only had my practice to go on (3.5 or so pounds) and that was on sous-vide, ti was a bit challenging to get the timing right, to get the things done at the temperatures needed and to deliver at the right time. I was way off. I expected a bit of extra time from the recipe, but not so much more. Since that was the case, I had to make guesses on keeping the sweet potatoes warm, and the dressing warm. So I had things ready to go at 1, but the pork stopped cooperating. So an hour or so later, I was able to call it done, then finish the last steps. Generally, a success.

Highlights for me. Pork and leftover pork were quite nice, I could do other things, I suspect, but it’s a lot to do just for us. The Cinnamon Ice Cream from Pints by Beth, is simple, warming and clean and something quite special (this got a shared look at the table between Shannon and I). It paired well with the Pie Bird Pies. I’ve have been getting better at the general sizing estimates so things were not as crowded in the fridge. I’m generally happy but did feel the guilt of a late delivery. I used 5 pounds of Crooked Gap green onion sausage. I also used Ethan’s daughter’s honey wheat bread for both he stuffing for pork and on the table. Most of the vegetables came from Grade A Gardens.

2023 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan

Shannon reminds me that I need to go on peoples behavior and I can’t just make a cheese ball cause I want leftover cheese ball. It’s a fair point. Task List Done, Equipment list done. Make a grocery list for the normal week eating, then a run down to Winter market cause I can’t remember some stuff (as in what I pickup on Tuesday), and having the green onions sausage early won’t hurt.

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Prep Tuesday

  • Cheese and Meat Board (Cheese Shop) pickup Wednesday

  • Gus Soda (Cheese Bar) pickup Wednesday

  • Crackers, variety

Bread

  • Sourdough - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

  • Rosemary and Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

Mains

Desserts

  • Apple Pear Cranberry Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Whiskey Apple Crumble Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Whipped Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Cinnamon Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

  • Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

2023 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan - draft

Appetizers

Bread

  • Sourdough - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

  • Rosemary and Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

Mains

Desserts

  • Apple Pear Cranberry Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Whiskey Apple Crumble Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Whipped Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Cinnamon Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

  • Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

2023 - Week 46 Cooking Results

Sausage

Cased brats, good things.

Burgers

All beef, local beef, good things.

Brioche bun Baked Sandwiches

I had a thought about serving these buns for thanksgiving, but by the time I got around to ordering they were already out. But they’re pretty good. I have seen a few people pumping these type of sandwiches, so I figured out it’d be a fun use of the buns. It was pretty good.

Noodles with egg

Delayed.

Mix of a Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin and Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin

The bacon didn’t finish like what I wanted, so what I’m going to use is the finishing and cooking method for the pork. So what’ll happen, because I did like the flavor boost of the BBQ sauce and shake, so I’ll add those, and sous-vide it just to make sure it’s ready to go and still finish in the oven. So Suasage stuffed, glazed with sauce started in sous-vide and finished in the oven with (gasp) no bacon.

2023 - Week 45 Cooking Results

Sausage

Cased brats for the first time in a bit. Good Things.

Egg Sandwich

More of that bacon, eggs, and English muffins.

Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken with Hot Honey Spiced Apples

I used granny smith apples, and boneless chicken thighs. Good, and pretty simple.

Skillet Goulash

It says, specifically in here to use sweet and not hot or smoked varietals. I used both (didn’t have enough hot). And frankly it was the paprika punch that I was looking for. Good things. I think I had a bit too much steak in there (I think I was a little heavy on each strip steak). Even so, good, good for leftovers. Enjoyable to make, enjoyable to eat.

Rush Creek Cacio e Pepe

This was excessive. Swiss (I was surprised myself, but it’s quite good.) pasta, Wisconsin Rush Creek, and Italian Pecorino Toscano. Butter? Anyways it was quite good, I need to add a bit more salt and pepper then I expected, but it was also a lot of food, normally I would make this in a half pound of pasta at a time.

2023 - Week 44 Cooking Results

Sausage

All pork hot dogs, good things.

Taco Salad

Good as always.

Burgers

Beef, I got it in my mind to make some mini burgers, so I did so. Good meal.

Egg Sandwich (holy crap there was some lucky george bacon in the bottom of the freezer)

Bacon holds up well, happy with finding it at the bottom of the freezer.

Bangers and Mash with Guinness onion gravy

I think I’ll make this again, but, not use the Guinness to make the gravy, cause it’s a bit too bitter. When I was slicing the onion I was thinking about only using half of it, since it was a rather large onion, but ended up using the whole thing. Overall fairly tasty, but the gravy could use a bit of work. Crooked Gap Bangers, did work well, though.

Sweet Potato Ramen

I adjusted. I added a bit more broth, and boiled the sweet potatoes rather then baked some of them. Generally this worked out well, and the broth mixture was tasty and goes well over rice too.

Oak Park (DSM)

We went to the newly opened Oak Park on 11/4. This was the first reservation that we were able to get, that did not conflict with existing plans. We dressed up a little to go, and showed up just a little bit early. And after looking at the property from several sides, we headed in. So let’s talk about what’s important, the design.

Shannon had to listen to a lot of this already. So the normal ceilings are fairly tall, but in comparison to the center of the dining area, where the bar is, the space is compressed. This was something that was noticed a lot in the FLW houses where the entrances and other areas had a confining feeling then you get into the main shared area and it opens up with a much higher ceiling, but in this case you went from a normal, perhaps tall ceiling, to a very tall probably two story ceiling. We were led into our dining location, near the front windows, through the bar, so we had that opening up experience, but then got the feeling of compression as we headed out of the bar area. So my general thought was that it might be better to lead people through the windowed dining areas on the side, rather than to get that mild feeling of compression.

After we sat down, one of the first things I noticed was the inconsistency of the brick. About 5 feet from the floor the pattern of the brick changed a bit, which is fine, but that line didn’t continue with the serving stations, nor the line of the windows. And the serving station didn’t match with the windows. I kind of want that line at the base of the windows to go all the way around the space, to only be broken by the doors.

The brick, which may not have been actual brick, didn’t have the deep cut, and almost full line to reinforce the lines around it (re: Meyer May house, etc).

The on table candle was held in a container that had a sort of feel of the place with lines and patterns and I liked it. However the sconces at even placement around the area, seemed more Victorian-esque, then mid-century, so they seemed a bit out of place. Not that they’re not pretty, but it doesn’t quite fit in my mind.

The Champagne bucket stands, seem like they should have had a built in place for them to hide. While at hand for staff to retrieve for customers, it really seems like they should have had a nook to rest.

I noticed that the flatware had the line break up on most pieces, which was a continuation of that theme.

In watching the staff work, I notice more then once that someone would have to get pretty low to get something out of the bottom cupboard, so perhaps if it was a bit higher, they wouldn’t have to bend so low.

My complaints are just me being picky for the most part, mainly because this is a style that makes me feel almost immediately relaxed, in most places, even when it is outside my general comfort zone.

Generally, we were very pleased with the food and the excellent service. This will certainly worth a second visit. The food was presented well, interesting, flavorful. Cocktails were made well and other Sam is quite knowledgeable (we’ve met a few time and Grade A and Cheese Shop events).

My biggest note was that I chose a vegetable focused dish (Carrot Wellington), and was pleased with the decision over a more meat focused dish.

2023 - Week 44 Cooking

I have been blocking of about 2 hours every weekday to study for a certification exam. While blocked off, I tend to only get about an hour in most days, cause work. I’ve done some pluralsight training and broken down what we probably will need to get some practice in, but after a recent event I became so more uncertain of the test, that I worked a good chunk of the day on my study guide, yesterday, and got 3 of 7 competency sections with answers? or definitions. The search on their site isn’t great, and I swear they block some of there site from being indexed. Since the terms used are often used in multiple contexts and it really seems to me that the test prep document seems to use terms that they stopped using after version 8, it is often very frustrating to find things.

Last night, Shannon headed off to bed, and I planned on going to bed after I got done with the 3rd section. 2 hours later, I finally headed up stairs. I’m pressing the limits of apple notes I think, as behavior got a bit weird maybe? I have exported things to pages, just in case. It’s at 23 pages and is an outline for the most part.

The point being, simple meals this week, more studying to do.