2011 - Week 25 Cooking Results
Chevre omelets with goat and pork sausage (La Ventrosa Ranch)
I may have overcooked them a little, but they still turned out pretty good. The chevre held its own agianst the eggs, and if it was a stronger version of the cheese (like I've had from mass market producers) would have been way to strong. Even as I think about it, I should have figured out a way to spread it out a bit better, but that is hard to do when the eggs are still a bit runny. On the other side of the plate, the goat and pork sausage, should really be pork and goat sausage. It really kind of tasted more porky then goaty. I still have more, so I will try it again, just to see how it turns out.
Coyote Run Farm's Grain finished hamburgers
So both types of the hamburgers turned out well and they are always there at the market, so they may end up being my vendor of choice. I will have to see what other kinds of meat that I can get from them. And they do have some of the other more non-traditional cuts. I topped them with some beautiful blue cheese. It the cheese was pretty mild as blues go, but had a good flavor. I ended up using it later on some sandwiches.
Eden Farms Hot Dogs
These were a nice easy meal after mowing the lawn. I hate mowing the lawn, but I do like that Hy-Vee now carries these. At least the ones around here.
Spicy Pork Po' Boys
These weren't really spicy (some, but not a lot), but they were messy (which was still fine). So with that they cooked up nice and we ate them. I'd make them again, but would probably spice them up a bit more.
Rice and Beans with Fried Eggs
The rice cooked up nice. I did this while I was attempting to make a cake. When I got to a good stopping point I made fried eggs. I left them a bit too long, because I meant to have a nice runny yolk, and had a more gelatinous yolk.
Pizza-palooza (Sister, sister in law, and my nephews will be stopping by)
So after much discussing (thanks to various people), and trying to avoid wheat (sister) and avoid lactose and red peppers (niece), I concluded that pizza was probably a non-starter. So I knew I had some pork shoulder left (some of the last of my Eden Farms pork) and I figured I could try some Barbacoa, but then I had to remember that not all families are used to the spice level that we are, so I had to dial it back a bit. So I tried to be careful. So I got both masa and flour tortillas, some more Coyote Run Farm beef, tomatoes, salad greens, and salsa at the market. I had to augment the pork a little with some normal pork (sigh) and so I went and picked up some, plus a few more things. Anyways, everything came together very well. Everyone seemed happy, all versions where well received (mild beef, spicier bean dish and clearly I need to add more spice to Barbacoa). Kids ate quickly, and the adults lingered a bit. Shortly after dinner, the RV headed out and off to Cedar Rapids. It was nice to visit with my family.
Cupcakes
So when Chris and Holly were on their way back from a vacation, I got a call from Chris, asking about making a cake, and I resisted, I've never had that good of luck with cakes, they end up tasting good, but I've never been thrilled with the way they look (cookies can look great even if they're not totally perfect), but I volunteered to help them out and make Holly a cake for her birthday. Not wanting it to be too old I waitied until Thursday to make it for the party on Friday. So I had an idea that I have this instant espresso powder (I used it for some recipie a while a go) and figured hey I can use this to make the desired Mocha cake. It turned out pretty well, frosting wise, (I used 2 teaspoons for 1 cup of cream). So I was up late on Thursday and finished around 12:30 or so.
I wasn't happy. I didn't sleep well, and I obsessing over it while I was working, I even was debating going to work, all the way up until I got into the car. So I emailed my boss, telling him that I was leaving work a bit early, and if he wanted me to take the day off, I would (he didn't make me), and went home to make cupcakes.
The cupcakes, I ratcheted up the espresso powder for the frosting (1 teaspoon for every 1/3rd cup of cream used). They turned out very good. People seemed to enjoy them (some even took extra home).
After the dinner, a few headed back to their house and we played a game. At that point, we sampled the ugly cake (I had dropped it of on our way over to the restaurant). It was pretty good too, if you can get past the looks. I had further thoughts on how I could make a mocha cake, because this cake called for hot water to be added at the very end (bloom the chocolate perhaps?), and I thought, hey, that hot water could have espresso powder in it. So perhaps I'll try it again, and maybe make these a little pick me up cake.
Sorbet
