Journal

2012 - Week 46 Cooking Results

Juicy Grilled Turkey Burgers (p13 Cook's Illustrated July & August 2012) (not grilled  modified and simplified) with Malt Vinegar-Molasses Burger Sauce (p13 Cook's Illustrated July & August 2012)

So there was something about those mushrooms.  They were very strong tasting.  So much so that even the mixture of turkey and mushrooms never tasted right.  And Inconsistant too.  My burger was fine, while Shannon's was overpoweringly mushroomy.  I don't know if it was because of how I cooked it, or that it was to many mushrooms or etc, but you would think that using the food processor to mix everything together would make for a good consistant mixture.

Meatier Meatloaf (p7 Cook's Illustrated September & October 2012)

So I ignored the recipe.

I figured, hey, If I mix more meat in, I can use the leftover turkey and mushroom mixture from the burgers.  So I combine in the pork and the beef and turkey mixture and go from there.  Putting together the standard meatloaf.  Cover it in the thick bacon.  Bake it, no problems?

Nope there were still segments of the meat loaf that were distinctly mushroomy.  Far to much so.  The only plus here was that it was here and there and not everywhere., so you may get a bit of to strong flavor and then evens out on the next bite.

Fried Meatloaf

I didn't end up frying, but I did end up using the meat loaf.

So we have the mushroom problem still, but I'm in a hurry and need to get dinner out (home late from work, again).  We were almost out of bread and I didn't want to use all the oil to fry.  So I just seared 'em off.

This was the touch they needed to turn out right.  With the thin slices, the sear just created the crust and a very good taste.  Was it worth all the hassle of the two other meals?  Probably not, but after two problematic meals, having a win, felt good.

Thai-Style Stir-Fried Noodles with Chicken and Broccolini (p15 September & October 2012)

skipped, probably doing it later.

Leek Mac and Cheese

I do love me some leaks.  Combining the two together did work out pretty well.  I did add more spices a long the way, and I decided to (wrongly) add bread crumbs to the cheese.  When broiling, I let it go a bit to long and because of that I had to scrape off a bit of burnt bread crumbs.  But after that, it was all right.  Not spectacular, but could probably be made better.  I think the issue here might have been the cheese I used.  The Machego was a bit more aged, then I think the recipe was taking into account for a younger moister cheese and because of that, it ended up a bit dry.

I did grate my thumb a bit, which hasn't happened in a while.

Spaghetti Carbonara with Green Peas

This turned out pretty well.  I used some La Quercia pancetta, and vaguely followed the recipe   It was quite tasty.

2012 - Week 45 Cooking Results

Lobster Mac and Cheese

After forgetting what Shannon wanted after a ridiculous day of work.  I promised I would make her some.  I figured this would mean trying to find some lobster substitute, or canned lobster or something, then I see that lobster tails were on "sale" at Whole Foods, so we took a trip over to get them.  I have bought lobster meat from the Waterfront before (quite expensive, though understandably so), but I figured I would save a bit of money.  It really didn't.  Yes I spent less, but when I buy two pounds of lobster meat, I'm not exactly going to use that all in one session.  So I skimmed around the internet, and decided to steam the lobster tails.  I think this is probably the 3rd time I've used the steaming insert on one of my large pots.

It was pretty amazing as the time counted down, the 3 lobster tails got a brighter and brighter shade of red.  I took them out with tongs, spread and split them with and older (blade nicked cause I dropped it long ago) chef's knife.  I then picked out the meat with my less then heat sensitive fingers (years of cooking abuse).

Side note here, we took my little brother Joseph out to eat at A Dong (Vietnamese) for his birthday, we're both having the fresh out of the fryer appetizers, while Shannon can't handle them cause they are to hot.  I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it does come in handy from time to time.

While that was happening I made the rest of the mac and cheese.  I made modifications to the recipe because of the comment on it that it was a bit bland.  I added more spices, I topped it with more Parmigiano Reggiano.  And it turned out pretty well, after the modifications.  If i didn't make those modifications, I would imagine that it would be bland.

Everyone liked it.  I had fulfilled my promise and covered my mistake.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I like tuna, I like casseroles, but this was bland.  There's not enough spicing along the way.  Yes it says season to taste at the end, but usually that's what you do after you have your seasoning in there to a certain extent.  I tried to save it as best I could, but really without dashing some table sauce or etc on it, which I just happened to run out of.  It still looked pretty, but that is only part of what makes a good dish.

Sausage, spinach and tomato pasta

So this ended up being a empty out the fridge pasta.  I used tomato paste, the leftover turkey and beans from the burgers, spinach and tomatoes and the sausage.  It turned out very well, considering the randomness of it.  The leftovers didn't make it through the next day.

Cow-milk Free Pizza experiment (will be leaning heavily on the Cheese Shop)

So I headed over to the Cheese Shop and asked for some advice, I was advice to go with a combination of Neal's Yard Dairy's Berkswell (raw sheep's milk) (~0.25 pounds) for a bit more of the savoriness, and some Avalanche Cheese Company's Cabra Blanca (raw Goat's) (~0.5 or so pounds) (for the meltiness) and fresh chèvre (Reichert's) (~0.25 pounds).  It turnend out very well, though we do have concerns about the younger palettes may not like the chèvre in there.  Certainly a good start.

Seared Turkey & White Bean Burgers

These were nice.  Didn't take to long, a good use of turkey and a nice change up.  I spiced it up a bit (not to much), and it was well received.

2012 - Week 45 Cooking

On this past friday, I was running a bit late, was kind of exhausted so I went to pick up food at Gateway.  This is what I was told to get for my wife:

IMG_2064.PNG

And by the time I drove to Gateway, I ended up getting a lobster shrimp roll.  Now to be fair they had a shrimp po-boy as a special, I was tired, etc etc.  Even so I should've been able to accomplish that task, so we are having Lobster Mac & Cheese, because I felt pretty bad about not getting that right, not even close.  Also, wanting to have a pizza party for some who are cow milk intolerant, so I need to figure out good options to use.

2012 - Week 44 Cooking Results

Roasted (or sautéed) Chicken Thighs with roasted potatoes

Delicious Foxhollow chicken, some local parsnips and some potatoes.  Just a bit of salt, pepper and olive oil on everything, roasted the chicken over the potatoes and parsnips.  Simple prep and then put it in the oven then kind of nap, made for a great meal.

Spicy Carrot Sandwiches  (p26 Food & Wine March 2012) (Rainbow Carrots)

Good stuffs.

Italian Sausage, green peppers, onion and tomato pasta.

I had some leftover mozzarella, but I forgot to put it in there.  This turned out pretty well, and was easy to make after a long day.  Could've used a bit more spice, but I added a bit after the fact and that was fine to.  It was really good when I diced up the mozzarella after the fact and put it on there.

Sautéed peppers, pancetta, chèvre on La Mie multi-grain wheat

So this was a thought that I had while I was till trying to wake up on a fine Farmer's market morning.  So in looking at the chèvre from Reichert's and I thought hey the peppers from Blue Gate and the chèvre then I thought of the onion in my bag.  This time around it was green peppers from Cleverly Farms.  So here's how it works:

3 oz La Quercia Pancetta Americana
1/2 small onion, petite diced
2 small (1 medium) green pepper, petite diced
4 slices of really good multi-grain bread (La Mie)
3-4 oz package of plain chèvre (I used Reichert's which is milder then most you can buy).

Cook the pancetta in a non-stick pan over medium to medium low until starting to crisp.  Set aside on paper towels.

Take the onion and green pepper petite dice and cook them in the rendered fat.  Stir occasionally for 7-15 minutes, until soft and starting to brown.

Meanwhile, toast the bread, and spread the bottom piece with the plain chèvre.

Top the chèvre on the toast with half of the onion and pepper mixture, make sure each gets a bit of that rendered fat.  Top the peppers and onions with the Pancetta and the top slice of toasted bread.  Serve immediately.  (there may be extra pancetta for eating, but that's not a bad thing)

Crooked Gap Bratwurst burgers

nom nom nom.

Quail egg topped burger

So grass fed ground beef was on sale, so we headed out there to get some, picked up a few other things.  And I thought hey, what better way to make a burger.  I hadn't originally intended to put bacon on there, but the visit to the Cheese Shop I thought, why not get some La Quercia Tamworth Cured Bacon?  The combination turned out great.  I topped mine with some of the last of the year greens from Cleverly Farms and some Dijon mustard.  There was a party in my mouth.

2012 - Week 42 Cooking Results

Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

So the intent was to make this for the Mattas, but that didn't happen, so we had it for dinner.  It turned out pretty good.  nice texture, filling and delicious.  I used Spanish chorizo​, since I couldn't find the other (three store visits).  Didn't take that long to make either.

Jalapeño and Cheddar Frittata

A little sour cream, a bit of cheddar and a diced jalapeño went in the eggs (or on top of) and then cooked then broiled a bit.  Turned out pretty well, certainly quick.

Rotisserie Chicken Tacos

Get chicken, shred chicken, cook chicken with some jalapeño powder and a bit of the table sauce from Juan O'Sullivans​, dice other things to put in it, Tada!, dinner in 30 minutes or less.  Good, and quick.

Lamb Sausage Pizza

So I made the dough on Thursday, because I was just spent on Wednesday and couldn't bring myself to do it.  So we had this last night.  I added some onions, the sauce didn't get to runny (followed my adjusted recipe rather then messing around)​, crust maintained it's crisp external side and tender inside.  Topped with a bit of sliced onion too (had a bit left in the fridge).  Definitely hit the spot.

Kung Pao Chicken (RC Cook's Country August / September 2012)

The sauce didn't get to the red level one would expect, though what you see from the stores, is kind of a unnaturally red color.  It tasted pretty good, served over jasmine rice (mix of brown and white).​

Skillet Penne with Chicken and Broccoli (RC Cook's Country August / September 2012)

I forgot to buy broccoli. Yes, it's even in the title and I couldn't bring myself to ad it to the list.  So I picked it up a couple of days after.  I turned out pretty well, and it wasn't just mee finishing off the 1/2 cup removed bottle of wine (though that sure didn't hurt).  May have taken a bit longer then I intended, but most everything dones, when I don't start cooking before 6:30.​

2012 - Week 41 Cooking Results

Sloppy Sammys

So these come together quickly, i really like them, I always make them with more mustard then one might expect (I've been known to eat mustard by the spoonful)​.  I used some local beef, it turned out like it normally does, different every time but usually good.

Creamy Tomato Soup​ with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I had forgotten what time we need to get down to the Civic Center​ to see Les Miserables (excellent), so I was finishing this off, and then got the reminder that we needed to go.  So we had to wolf it down.  grilled cheese and tomato soup is one of those slow lingering meals you want to have.  You want to be able to enjoy the interaction between the slowly cooling soup, the melted cheese and slightly crusted bread, and how all that combined together makes this magical flavor combination.

I used a combination of Meadow Creek's Grayson and Caroline Hostettler​'s Sharfe Maxx as was suggested to me by the fine folks at the Cheese Shop recommended.  It turned out well, melted well, had a nice texture and a little bit of the good cheese funk (more on the nose then in the flavor).  Made on some La Mie crusty multi-grain bread, i turned out wonderfully.  We actually had this again later in the week (though not on the La Mie bread).

Baked Potatoes

So I caught some flack when asked what I was making baked potatoes.  Even when I said hey, they're from Grade A Gardens, something so simple and delicious as a baked potato.  I guess I'm impressionable, so I gave options for a sort of baked potato bar.  Bacon?  La Quercia of course.  Sour Cream, yes, cheese?  Some Cheese?  How about some Prairie Breeze from Milton Creamery.  Want some other thing?  How about some of the leftover Sloppy Sammy stuff.  Does that then make it a Meal?  Anyways, I like baked potatoes, these turned out well.  I had them in the oven and cooking at a lower temperature (350° for an 75 to 85 minutes).  I'd like to do a side by side comparison between the two methods (400° for 60 minutes), but I'd need two ovens...

Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

Was going to make this for the Mattas Last night, but after getting out of T's swim meet and heading over to Bandit Burrito​ for a late lunch, by the time we got home it was 3.  We got ready to go to see Bill Maher at the Civic Center, they headed out to go see Frankenweenie.  So I may make it for lunch for them today, if it works out, if not, dinner tonight.

Roasted Squash (olive oil, salt and pepper)

I got home after leaving work 6:30 and stopping to pick up a few things​.  I was worried I wouldn't have enough time to roast the squash   So I peeled it...or tried to, then started to just cut the skin off with my chef's knife.  The wavy skin on the squash (I don't remember what it's called, but it was from Cleverley Farms).  I had large diced pieces, cooked them a bit w/ at tiny amount of water, then Italian sausage, then a bit of ricotta.  Then added in some pasta and a bit of parmesan   It worked out well.  The squash was tender but still had a bit of a bite to it, and absorbed a bit of the sausage and ricotta goodness.  Made for a quick good dinner.  The only drawback here is that when I had it as a leftover the next day, in the microwave being reheated, the squash became a little to soft, but as a reheated leftover, what do you expect?

Shepherd's Pie​ (visit from Mattas)

Note to self, T doesn't like things that may or may not have what could be perceived as gravy in it.​  Be that as it may, this still turned very well.  With the chilly weather, it fit.  I served it with some La Mie bread, and 5/6 people were happy with the meal.

2012 - Week 40 Cooking Results

Spicy Carrot Sandwiches  (p26 Food & Wine March 2012) with Hummus

​Once again, very good.  Such a nice combination of flavors.

Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with White Beans, Greens & Sage (via Cleverley Farms via Eggs on Sunday)

So this was suggested by the fine folks at Cleverley Farms​.  And I thought, hey why not, we'll expand our vegetable choices.  So a little bit of prep, a little roasting and then putting it together.  They came out of the oven all nice and warm and not overly impressive.  However, combining the savory parmesan and breadcrumb top, with the mild bitterness of spinach, a bit of creaminess from the beans, and the slightly sweet, soft flesh of the delicata squash.

It was very good.​

Chive Chèvre Frittata

Eggs, some of Lois's Chèvre , a little bit of milk, salt and pepper, and it was done.  Certainly the easy meal that I was talking about.  It turned out well.  It didn't hurt that I used La Quercia applewood smoked Iowa White spread.

Baked Penne with Sausage and Creamy Ricotta

I was a bit distracted while making that.  Having polite conversation with a guy I had never met before about me going back to church (I don't find value there).  He had apparently stopped by the night before, and I didn't bother to go upstairs to answer the door (my brother did)​.  So even though it came out tasting pretty good, I wasn't happy with how it looked, thus no picture.

Grant's Mac & Cheese

So I was thinking this would be a normal Mac & Cheese with some bacon in it I suppose, but as I started to follow the recipe,  I kept thinking, hey how am I going to make a roux with this.​

The roux was made with the rendered bacon fat (and a bit of butter).​

Which really explains as to why it was as simple as it can be yet still have such flavors.  Not only bacon by the La Quercia Tamworth Bacon​, which I affectionately call dream bacon (it tends to give me very vivid dreams, Shannon has had them just once).  So after working to get it into the oven, and resisting the temptation to add breadcrumbs, it tasted good, very good.  The only issue here is that I was uncertain how to know if I would've added enough salt.  Clearly the amount of salt in bacon varies, and that's probably why they don't suggest the right amount, but this did, in the end, need a little bit of salt, I think (I didn't add any).  Luckily you can add salt after the fact.

Not good for you, but damn, it's good.​

2012 - Week 39 Cooking Results

Rarebit

So I had a pile of the fondue left from game night​, so the first thing that came to mind was to do a Rarebit, since it's been a while since I've had one.  So I did.  toaste, ground chuck and then some pickled goathorn peppers on mine (not for Shannon).  Simple enough, and an easy prep.

Italian Sausage and Pumpkin Lasagna (based on Northern Italian Pumpkin Lasagna in Pumpkin, a Super food for All Year Round)

I sacrificed another pumpkin​ to food.  So I have made these before and I've thought hey, maybe it'd be a bit better witha bit more flavor in there.  That could just be the person who originally developed the recipe,   So I thought that the Graziano sausage would make a great addition, instead of something a bit more milde (like chicken or turkey sausage).  then in getting cheese out to grate (fresh mozzarella from the Cheese Shop) I realized I had quite a bit of La Quercia Red Rossa prosciutto left, so I figure, hey, why not.

The fat clearly rendered ​to soak into the various layers, that combined with the truly excellent aged Parmesan, made for quite the savory taste.  In thinking further, it may make more sense to render off the fat from the sausage, and then cook the pumpkin and onion in that.  Though that may not render off enough fat.  It really is quite a bit of pumpkin.

Anyways, good recipe, great taste.​  Worth the effort for a fine dinner, but you may want to start early (including prepping the pumpkin the process took about 3 hours).

I only which I would've waited a bit longer before I cut it and took it out of the pan, so it could've solidified a bit more to get a better picture, but it was getting pretty late, and we were both pretty hungry.​

Lamb Chops with Roasted Potatoes​ (Lamb from Crooked Gap)

So there were two things that turned out really well here.  First, I timed it just right, the potatoes and lamb chops were done at the same time.  Second, the lamb chops were mid-rare.  I must confess that I do, from time to time, overcook meat, which is sinful, considering the quality of the product that I get.  But when I cut into it, it was the happy gentle pink on all 4 chops.  Even though two of them were thicker then the other two.  I admit I did just a little help from a thermometer, but even with that, sometimes you get distracted and over cook it. ​

The potatoes are from Grade A Gardens, and I dressed them up with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.​  They turned out great to, soft, but with enough tension left to have a bit of bite left to them.  I was really happy with this meal.

Green Onion Sausage Pizza

Played with the pizza sauce a bit (tried to incorporate some hot red peppers from Cleverly Farms​).  This did not work, the sauce was on the liquid side and ran over on to the pan, messing with the crispness of large portions of the crust.  It still tasted good, but I was just a bit peeved  at myself for not seeing that the sauce was too runny.  I think I didn't add enough tomato paste, but even so.

Spicy Carrot Sandwiches (p26 Food & Wine March 2012) with Classic Hummus (p29 Cook's Country February / March 2012)

These are so good.  I'm gonna make 'em again.​

Slow Chili

​I started the bean soak on Thursday Evening and finished Saturday afternoon.  I'm starting to play with my own spice mixture, and that was pretty fun.  I kind of went of previous versions and figured out how much I had in there, then added that much.  I took better notes, but stil forgot to add a couple of things (tomato paste (thickening agent and savoriness), anchovy paste (savoriness)), So it wasn't where I wanted to be, but getting close.

What brought this about was that I don't want to add more salt then is necessary.  Most chili powders contain salt, so you can't add more without adding salt, plus if you wanted to mass out the quantity and multiply it for a really large batch, you couldn't buy the parts in individual quantities, because you wouldn't know the ratio.​

So in playing, I really wanted to bring out some of the bright and fruitiness from the dried jalapeño ​pepper, but not to much burn (I still have to feed this to my wife).  I ended up with a combination of 9 spices.  I think I'm going to bump of the dried jalapeño a bit, because even though I could detect it, it wasn't as forward as I wanted.

Lots of leftovers, but anytime you start to measure ingredients by the pound, that's to be expected.​

Exploring Des Moines

So we were given a project by our niece to take a bunch of pictures around Des Moines, sometimes the shots were to good to just have ones with a little paper girl in them.​  The first set from the Franklin Avenue Library and on or around the capital grounds.  The Second is from the Des Moines Botanical Center, and the third is from the Blank Park Zoo.  Pictures taken over the last two weekends.

2012 - Week 38 Cooking Results

Fusilli with Green Beans, Pancetta, and Parmigiano

So the cheese shop was out of Pancetta, so I went with the ​La Quercia bacon.  Now I love this bacon, but we have had an odd side effect (dreams).  Shannon didn't have any this time around, but I sure did (woke up thinking someone was stomping up the stairs at least 3 times).  Anyways this was a nice combination and worked out pretty well.  I followed the recipe right, and bacon and pancetta are from the same part of the pig (though treated differently).  But it worked out well.

The problematic note here, is that I forgot to buy parmesan (after being there to buy bacon), and I didn't want to go back.  So I went to Dahl's instead.  Yeah...that was a mistake.​  It really detracted from it, the extra cost is totally worth it.  These are the lessons we learn.

​Hearty Lamb and Vegetable Stew

​With this I did my best to butcher a shoulder of lamb and get off enough chunks to make the stew.  This, not something I do often.  I have had more experience with poultry then meats, and even that, I wouldn't count as a whole lot of experience.  But I worked my way through it using boing knife.  Eventually I had made enough of the way through to feel satisfied, then continued to make the stew.  It turned out well, but part of me really wanted to have potatoes in it.  Maybe there's just a connection there, but I had t double check to make sure they weren't in the recipe.  It turned out well, though for that amount of effort I couldn't believe they had such a little amount of stew made.  So I did add a bit more of most things, and it turned out well.  It was one of those things that, even though it wasn't quite fall at the time, it felt like it and really gave that sort of comforting feeling.  I really enjoyed it, though next time I want more.  And maybe next time, I'll skip the shoulder and save that for something that I don't have to work as hard, though the shoulder is relatively cheap and forgiving.

BATs

So when I was making Chili, I had the extra bacon, and I really wanted to have tomatoes at the time, but I didn't, so Jill at Blue Gate suggested that I use the Cottage Bacon from Crooked Gap to make that.  So I bought some tomatoes (T) from Jill and some bacon (A) from Ethan, some arugula from Larry (A).  Added some Mayo and a bit of Goat Cheddar from Avalanche Cheese Company (via the cheese shop) and it made a great sandwich.

Oklahoma Fried Onion Burgers (p14 Cook's Country August / September 2012)

ehhh...I was busy updating my iPhone, our iPads, and some other software, and and when I went up stairs to start this, the 30 minute wait time to do this, seemed a bit excessive, so I just winged it.  We ended up with cheese stuffed burgers.  They were pretty good.​

Spinach, Bell Pepper, and Sausage Pasta (RC​ Cook's Country August / September 2012)

Joseph stopped by after a long day of work and we fed him.​  It was good, we all were happy.

​This week I also made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (don't get to make them that often, cause Shannon doesn't like raisins), and two cheddar and stout items for Game night (dip, fondue).  All three turned out well, though I had to do a double take on the fondue recipe when it called for apple juice concentrate.