Journal

2019 - Week 2 Cooking Results

Sous Vide Pork Chop

I uh, didn’t have a pork chop in my freezer. It was surprising to say the least. Check First, then plan. We, instead, modified a pre-made cheese pizza with bresaola. Earlier in the day I used some donated to blood donors bread to make some melted sandwiches. Good meal for a lazy snowy Saturday.

Broccoli and Egg Fried Rice

Leftover rice from the Etouffee, after a mild distraction from work, I prepped all the ingredients, then executed quite qicklky, making adaptations for use of a normal skillet (more oil). It worked out pretty well, a nice quick dinner. I did add some leftover chicken that was to much for the Etouffee.

Chicken and Andouille Étouffée

Made some rice, had the dish come together pretty easily. It was quite good. I did use way more andouille sausage then the recipe called for. it was quite good.

not so (baked not fried) Crispy Chicken Cutlet Sandwich

I made some adjustments, heated the oven. Doused the cutlets in flower, since I wasn’t frying them, then baked them until they reached the right temp. It turned out really good and with the mayo was quite nice. I am never a big fan of using a whole lot of oil to fry a thing (mostly cause I don’t want to dispose of all that oil).

Bacon-Jalapeño Stovetop Mac and Cheese Recipe

I always find it fascinating the methods to combine things into a sauce and the variance in the texture that it provides. Clearly there’s a chemistry to this. I did swap out the American cheese for a very young gouda. It turned out very good. I used sweet & hot pickled jalapenos.

2019 - Week 1 Cooking Results

Chile Verde tacos

I think I added too much liquid from the cans of tomatillos. I should have drained them, as fresh ones were not available. That being said not only did it turn out really good, I think we both had it for the next couple of days (Shannon did lunch, me for breakfast). Certainly a good application for a large hunk of meat (of which I have a few). I may use this or something like this to go through some of those cuts. I would like to empty my freezer before I start adding again. I did sneak in some Serrano powder, finishing off the container, but even so it just had a mild heat to it.

Sous Vide Fish (may finish in pan this time?)

I bought some fairly thin catfish filets, but I didn’t think this would actually make a meal so we had ham and egg sandwiches.

Chicken Soup with Jasmine Rice and Ginger

I will admit, this recipe doesn’t make sense to me. It seems an excessive amount of water for a small amount of rice. Not enough ingredients to make anything but a super broothy soup. So I adapted. I used the rice but only with a small amount of water. I let it cook for a bit then set it aside. I combined the ingredients (ginger, etc) and like that and the chicken stock come together. I added diced scallions, let those go a bit. Added in the rice semi-mush and the. The chicken (whole pulled rotisserie chicken) I just warmed up.

It was nice and had a very prominent ginger flavor, but enough stuff to make it a filling soup. The audible worked out well. Not much more then the amount to feed the two of us though.

2018 - Week 52 Cooking Results

63C egg with bacon on toast (today)

This mostly worked the way I wanted, just sort of incomplete. I would like a denser white, but the liquid level of the yolk was very nice. The thought of using this method to help poach an egg is pretty cool. Looking forward trying this again to get to the right place.

Pasta with Italian Sausage

Simple easy dinner, used up some leftover pasta. I may have had a bit to much pasta for the sauce I made, but oh well.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

Cooked, adjusted, cooked, peppered, a touch of salt, more ham. It was done while the cold snap (only by comparison)

Pork Burgers

Easy peasy.

12 Beers of Christmas

Smaller attendance then previous years, variety obtained and presented. It was an interesting set. At one point we decided we were done and called it a night.

The order:

The Fallen

Thinking on Social Media

After seeing my general phone usage stats over the last few weeks, I’m becoming more thoughtful about how and why I use it. For the most part, this is what this (website) is. Habit, planning, general expressiveness. It’s for me, if other people read it, that’s fine, but it’s for me. I’ll use it as a reference for what I’ve cooked before, where we’ve gone, as sort of the official history, and to help me remember the timeline.

As it stands, I’ve been reducing my usage. I don’t think I’ll stop, because it can be a useful tool, but how much do I really need to use it?

I think this coming year I’ll try to be more social in person with people that I’ve fell off with due to depression cycles. I’ve also thought of posting things here, instead of Instagram, but that feels like I’m forcing people to come here, rather then putting it where they want to consume it. I don’t know. I’m still thinking about it.

2018 - Week 51 Cooking Results

Sous Vide fish (serious eats as a guide)

I had some yellow fin tuna, and took one steak and cooked it up (and then cleaned up some stuff in the garage). This is nice. Maybe soon I’ll graduate to the cook then finish in pan.

Brats! (for lazy Sunday)

yep.

Ham & Gruyere scramble

Melty and delicious.

Ham and Bean Soup

Simple combination, came together quickly and made for a pretty good meal.

Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes

I’m looking forward to lunch today, because Meatloaf sandwich is on the horizon. This turned out pretty well. Reading through the recipe I was convinced that this may be overly complicated, but as I made this on a Saturday, without much else to do, I figured I’d follow along. Normally I use pork and beef, but this is an all beef one, and was pretty good. I generally make mashed potatoes for guests, making it just for us is a bit harder, as I have to reduce the amount of thought in my head. They turned out pretty good (I used up some leftover sour cream, some quark, some butter and some whole milk).

2018 - Week 51 Cooking

The year is starting to draw to a close. Deadlines are coming about, new projects (smallish) are being dropped in my lap. So far so good. Winter market was yesterday I was able to restock my egg stash. Clearly this means I need to make the 145º egg. We’re going to have some fish again because practice makes better (and fish is not bad for you).

  • Sous Vide fish (serious eats as a guide)

  • Brats! (for lazy Sunday)

  • Ham & Gruyere scramble

  • Ham and Bean Soup

  • Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes