Organic heirloom tomato bruschetta on the menu tonight. With so many varieties of heirlooms out there, I can combine different types for endless combinations. It's about the only vegetarian dish I'll eat.
My apologies for the late reply. Get some canola oil and salt. Cover the bottom of the pan with salt and then pour a half-inch of oil into it. Heat it until it starts to smoke, kill the heat, and discard the oil after it's cooled. Wipe what's left away with a clean washcloth and you're good to go. Depending on what you cook you might be able to just wipe it clean. If not, and you have to scrub it, you'll have to re-season it.
I've got to thank Mr. Miracle for the recommendation of <a class="postlink" href="http://www.Japanesechefsknife.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.Japanesechefsknife.com</a> and the Hattori knives. The site offers a great deal on shipping, $7 for international shipping, whether you buy one knife or twelve its just $7. I bought a 9" Hattori HD-8 240mm Gyuto (chef's knife) and an HD-5 170mm Santoku. Both knives are brilliant right from the get go, beautiful patterns too. Perfectly balanced, arrow straight blades, they cut like a dream. I've been surprised with their edge retention as well. This has started an obsession with knives though, I'm going to order some more soon, get a nice collection of the $100-300 range of knives available and see what I like the best before I pull the trigger on a Devin Thomas, Bob Kramer or Hattori KD.
So last weekend we anchored in a bay on the baja of mexico and went clamming and were very successful, the clams were place in a milk crate and left to sit in salt water in the bait tank for a few days to get rid of their sand. Once I got them home I kept the in the fridge and they stayed alive with the exception of a few that opened. I decided to make linguini with clams and it was pretty easy. 1. 60-70 live clams (if they are opened throw them away) 2. 1 quart of chicken stock 3. 1 stick of butter 4. 1 shallot diced 5. 6 gloves of garlic 6. green onions 7. 3 tablespoons of chipotle tabasco 8. any other seasonings you want. *do not salt as the clams have salt water in them and will take care of that for you. Make sure clams are somewhat covered in liquid, cover pot and let cook on high until clams open. Cook linguini and top with liquid and clams and grated parmersan.
What are some of your favorite things to do with potatoes? The other week I did your basic cubed red potato on the grill, making some baked spuds tonight for burgers, figured I'd see what some of the more culinary gifted folk do to spruce up the basic cannon ammo. (first person to link potato porn gets a cock punch) My buddy said he's made the rebaked potatoes with left over bacon grease, anyone ever try that? And I guess that's another thing, we've got a coffee mug and a half of leftover grease, any suggestions?
This is a nice recipe to dress up potatoes. I have made this 5 or ten times, always delicious. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/02/beef_tenderloin_medallions_with_potato_risotto" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/ ... to_risotto</a> Ingredients * 1 tablespoon butter * 1 cup finely chopped onion * 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, then 1/8-inch cubes * 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper * Coarse kosher salt * 1 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth * 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream * 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese * 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives * 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme Preparation * Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add potato cubes and cayenne pepper; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, adding more chicken broth by tablespoonfuls if dry (mixture should be creamy with some sauce, not dry), about 8 minutes. Add cream and simmer until potatoes are tender but still hold their shape, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in cheese and chives. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often. Divide potato risotto among plates.
Made what I believe to be the best jambalaya of my life tonight. Started with browning some sliced pork shoulder steak (seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder) with some smoked sausage in a little bit of vegetable oil. Cook until the meat starts to stick, and a little water, scrap the bottom of the pot, and then brown some more. This is where your color comes from. Do this 4 or 5 times, and then add about 2 diced yellow onions, 1 diced bellpepper, 2 stalks diced celery, 1 diced red bellpepper, 4 cloves minced garlic, and diced parsley. Cook about 15 minutes until onions are cooked, and then add 8 cups of beef stock and bring to a boil. Let it roll for about 15 minutes, letting the flavors mix, and then taste. Season with salt and red pepper if it need it, and you can over season if you want to compensate for the blandness of the uncooked rice. Then, add 4 cups of parboiled long grain rice, bring back to a boil, and let roll for about another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, only uncovering to stir every 10 minutes. Do this until all liquid is absorbed, then kill the heat and let steam with the cover on for 10 minutes or so. Season to taste at this point, and then garnish with sliced green onions. Finished product should be close to this: Serve with a buttload of beer and/or whiskey.
I'm loving the dish that I'm currently cooking in the oven. It's a quick and easy pork dish that can be prepped and on the table in under an hour. 4-6 center cut pork chops 1 TBS oil 1/4 cup soy sauce (I use light) and 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice Fresh minced ginger to taste Sal and pepper 1 onion thinly sliced Heat oven to 350. In a large skillet, heat oil over med/high heat. Add pork chops, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until both sides are brown. Mix together OJ and soy sauce. Pour over chops. Add ginger and stir. Transfer chops to a flat casserole dish, and top each with a one slice of onion. Pour OJ/Soy/Ginger mix all over. Cover and bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles or white rice. Quick, easy, and damn tasty!
Made my second attempt at a pretty tasty low-fat homemade macaroni and cheese earlier this week, and it was highly successful. The secret to the color and lack of tubbyness is the use of fozen winter squash as a filler, though it still has plenty of cheesy goodness. Also one of those meals that tastes awesome warmed up in the microwave. PM for recipe.
I've recently been making more icing/glazes for things (specifically, a maple pecan icing for scones and a lemon glaze for a cake) and have had the unfortunate realization that I hate powdered sugar. I find this strange because I like regular sugar, but whenever I use the powdered version, there's this strange taste that I only associate with powdered sugar. I've tried incorporating it slowly (tablespoon at a time, making sure that it's fully absorbed before adding more) and while that sometimes works, it sometimes doesn't. Does anyone else have this experience with powdered sugar? Could it just be the type I'm buying (cheap supermarket version)? Should I just use regular sugar and look for a conversion?
Powdered sugar is part finely ground sugar and part corn starch to prevent caking. That mealy taste in your mouth is the corn starch.
The wife is currently cooking dinner for me- chicharrones con salsa verde: That's right- its friggin' pork skins. Slowly simmered in homemade tomatillo salsa. With some potatoes thrown in for shits and giggles. I just tasted it. Holy shit. Why have I never heard of this before? The only thing it is missing is bacon and a fried egg on top, and it would be the most perfectest meal ever. Being married to a Messy-can is friggin' awesome!
Going to be making this Char Siu recipe again. Im a newb when it comes to BBQ pork and need some tips on this. The last time I tried this recipe I had a pound slab of pork belly fat removed. It came out looking kind of pink in the middle (not the "pink ring") and the fluids ran red after I cut it. I put it back in for another half hour and it turned out kind of dry. Id like to have a nice crispy outside and a juicy succulent inside. I have two slabs at about 1/2 lbs a piece marinating now. What are the general tips for cooking pork like this? (note I only have an oven). Thanks.
I would get an electric thermometer that you can insert into the meat and run outside the oven. You can follow general guidelines on temp and time, but as long as the middle of the meat reaches a certain temp (usually ~170 degrees F) for a certain amount of time, it is safe to eat. I find the juiciest, tenderest, tastiest pork to be just slightly pink on the inside. Using this method, I think you'll be happy with the results. How many pounds and what cut you're cooking will effect the needed oven temp and such. I'm not an expert here so someone else will have to chime in.
I've never made Char Siu, but a couple important tips for cooking any piece of meat in the oven for long periods. -Never let the cooking liquid it's in come to a boil, that's the easiest way to dry it out. If it's bubbling, the oven's too hot. -Connective tissue will start to break down right around 200-210 F so make sure your meat gets just beyond that temp. If you use a digital thermometer, you'll actually notice the meat 'stall' around this temp and sit there for awhile while everything renders out. Once the connective tissue is gone, the temp will climb again. Don't go beyond 220 or it will get tough & dry again. This only applies to fatty and tough cuts of meat that you're trying to tenderize. Obviously ignore this if you're making something like tenderloin or something you'd normally cook to medium-rare.
Another point to consider is to allow the meat to rest after pulling it from the oven and before slicing and serving. It will still continue to cook a bit while at rest under tented foil.
The cuts are about an inch and a half thick about 2 inches wide probably half pound a piece. Ill let it sit, didn't think of that. Ill look for a meat thermometer but god knows these communist heathens don't BBQ enough for this to be an easy find over here. So what temp and how long would you usually be cooking to get this perfect 200-210 degrees?
I think 200-210F is overkill. Check out meathead http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/meat_temperature_guide.html. He goes to 180-190 on ribs because he uses it for pulled pork, but for pork steaks, chops and roasts, 140-160. I'd pull it at 155 and let it rest for 10 minutes.
I'm with you on the 140-160 on leaner pork cuts, I usually pull mine around 145 and let them carry over. I believe he's in China or somewhere so I'm assuming the meat is much fattier & tougher than what we're used to. I'm treating it more like beef brisket, which will be chewy as shit at 150 (at least in my experience). It's my understanding that American pork is much different than it was 50 years ago, and I would expect it to be much different in most parts of Asia. Since you're cooking with meat you don't have much experience with I would invest in a good digital thermometer and have it shipped to you if you can't find one locally. I'd make several pieces at once and pull them out individually at different temps so you can see the difference 10 degrees makes. On average, pieces the size you're cooking will carry over around 10 degrees; so if you pull it out @ 170, it will end up being 180 when you serve. And DEFINITELY let it rest for 20-30 mins. Cooking-wise, I'd probably put it in @ 250F.
Summer's coming up, and for me that means it's time to start smoking. (meat, not tobacco). I'm thinking of replacing my offset smoker with one of these babies: Bradley Automatic Smoker Since I don't have roommates anymore I find myself making much less food, and the fact that I can start this thing up in the morning, and walk away is very appealing. Has anyone here had experience with one of these, or a similar brand?