Snot What It Looks Like

 

Supper, Thursday July 15, 2021: cod fingers; limas; okra 
and tomatoes; rice.

A couple of years ago most of this meal would have been from the garden. At least this year we got the tomatoes. They are tasty. Unfortunately it looks like we are about to have a stinkbug problem. We hates them. I have found no control method other than squishing them by hand. A propane torch tends to damage the plant. Then again, you don't have to kill them with the torch just maim them enough. . .

Enough of that. I wish that okra didn't have the snot thing. I really like okra. I REALLY like fried okra and it is indispensable in gumbo. Like many people (most?) I just have a problem with the mouth feel unless it is cut by cooking with tomatoes for the acidity. (I think that is what makes it better.) At least we can fry it. I suppose that will have to suffice.

Too Many Steps

 

Supper, Wednesday May 19, 2019: pizza (pizza stuff, shrimp).

I'm getting better at this. I found a new tweak that solved a longstanding complaint I have had about my approach. It's soggy. 

We like a fair number of ingredients on our pie. I wouldn't go so far as to say garbage can pizza, but some might argue. Anyhoo, One of the problems with a lot of stuff on the pie is getting it all cooked before the crust or cheese gets too browned or even burnt. You could, counter-intuitively, turn the heat down. This stretches the cook time allowing time for the ingredients to soften before the fire starts. Unfortunately we like the dark browning that comes with the high heat and fast cooking. What's a poor boy to do? I have settled on precooking all the ingredients then adding them to the pie warm. (They don't have to be hot). 

The problem that I have encountered with this method is that pizza ends up soggy, particularly as leftovers, and we loooooove leftover pizza. (We paid our way through college. Capisce?) It is not so big a deal when the pie is hot from the oven.  The crust is firm but the ingredients are wet. When it cools down and sits a bit the juices from the veggies get down into the crust. One workaround that I have found helps, is heating the leftovers on a griddle instead of the microwave. By the time the top is warm the crust has firmed up a bit. That is all well and good for home use but when taking the slices to work the microwave is usually the only option. 

I realized, rather densely this time, that the solution is simply place the sauteed ingredients in a colander whilst shaping the crust. I was rather surprised by the amount of liquid that was left behind. We found no loss in flavor, and the texture was greatly improved. In the photo above there is no sign of a puddle in the center of the circle of yum.

I'm getting close to pifection.

Oh, and the shrimp, I coarsely diced them. Say three or four pieces per shrimp, about the same size as the sausage gobbets.

Back. . . Again

 

 Supper, Tuesday May 11, 2021: Surf and turf (seared round steak (steak of your choosing. I choose-ed a couple of round cuts that were in the reduced section. It is what I had on hand. salt, pepper, browned butter pan reduction from the lobster); lobster (shelled and sliced tails, butter, white wine, cooked in the steak pan); kohlrabi fritters (shredded kohlrabi, egg, flour, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper, avocado cream sauce (avocado, yogurt, sour creme,

salt lemon juice)); FGT (green tomatoes, breading of your choice, tomato chutney).

Life finds a way. . . of getting in the way. We finally moved to Savannah. I got busy with the house. Then I had a very bad run with my disease. Along the way I occasionally got lost in ennui. And so on. I am not going to even try to catch up. I haven't been taking a lot of photos lately anyway. 

Last night's meal is one of the best I have ever made. ( So much so that It inspired me to get back to writing. Yes it was literally life changing. It all just worked together so well. It was an experience to be savored, slowly. Actually I shouldn't equivocate. It was THE best.)

I had a procedure done yesterday. Let it suffice to say the procedure required fasting. I wanted a nice meal after. I originally planned on going out. I got the second shot about three weeks ago so I assumed I would be relatively safe if I went to a restaurant. Nope. I had the antibody test done a week ago. The vaccine did not take. I have no immunity. My immune suppressants are doing their job, just to well in this case. I decided to stay in.

I needed a few things at the grocer. While there the meal started to come together. The

lobster and meat were on sale. I hadn't had kohlrabi fritters in forever. The green tomatoes were be-au-ti-ful. 

We agreed, at the end, that we could not have purchased a better meal anywhere. That good.

 

It's Not Really Black

 

Supper Wednesday April 29, 2020: blackened mahi; farfale a bella (farfale, baby bellas, cream, butter, garlic, parmesan, black pepper).

The grocer we use has had whole mahi filets (frozen, cryovac) on sale for some time. (When does a sale time out and just become the new price?) We keep going in expecting the "sale" to be over but it doesn't end so we have been eating a fair amount of mahi. It works really well blackened. I'm not sure what about it makes that method turn out so well but it does. By contrast I tried cutting it into strips then breading and frying it. Fried fish right? Anggg! Try again. It is not good that way. The texture and flavor just don't work with frying. But hey, blackening is easier anyway. 

The thing to keep in mind about blackening is that it is not really black, in other words burnt. It is more like black-ish. The spice coating should be very browned. It looks at a glance as if it is burned but not quite. If truly burned the spices will turn bitter. The pan should have a little oil and hot enough to shimmer the oil well, but not quite smoke it. (If it's smoking just a little go ahead, but drop the heat just a skosh.) A cast iron or other heavy pan works best because it is more temperature stable from its large mass. 

Sure Beats The Foam Cup

 

Supper, Saturday April 18, 2020: ramen (homemade noodles, shiitake/chicken broth, shrimp, roasted chicken, egg, shiitake, bellas, scallion, cilantro, fish sauce, soy).

When the pre-packaged ramen in the cello bag and the version in the styrofoam cup flooded the US in the 80s I was a teenager and my mother found that buying them by the case was a good way to keep me and my brother fed. During my college years (a lot longer than they should have been) I would have starved if I didn't have a microwave and cases of salty chewy noodles. (I paid my own way through college. Long story.)

Fast forward to nearly the present, about three years ago. I still have a place for those chewy noodles in my heart, but I really shouldn't eat them on account of the salt. Plus my tastes have changed. I know there is a movement(?) that loves to show how to dress up the plain Jane noodles, and better versions are available at specialty stores. I've just never been motivated to explore that. 

Then I went to a conference in San Diego. When we visit new cities we try to take in regional flavors and independent restaurants. Up to that point I had been to noodle houses but none that had ramen. I was only vaguely aware that ramen houses were even a thing. So when I saw one in downtown SD I was intrigued. Long story short: I had to figure out how to make that sh*t.

The broth is negotiable. Traditionally a rich, slowly and carefully crafted extraction of beef, pork, or less often chicken is used. Also seafood stocks or something akin to a nabeyaki broth are enjoyed. I suppose miso? Whatevs. If you look at a ramen house menu the central philosophy is choice. It should be what you like. The same goes for the other ingredients aside from the noodles.

The noodles are easily purchased. Making them at home is not difficult BUT it requires a speciality ingredient - kansui. It is a solution of potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. It is quite alkali and responsible for the yellow hue and springiness of the pasta. It is a little hard to get. Not all Asian groceries carry it. It might seem expensive online BUT a little goes a long way so it is worth the investment. To my knowledge it can't "go bad" (as long as the bottle is closed and the water doesn't evaporate).

Initially on the interwebs I found some sites that proclaimed it is possible to make ramen noodles with homemade sodium carbonate (made by baking baking soda (LOL, cooking sodium bicarb in the oven for four hours)). My experience with this method was:

Nope. Buy the kansui.

It's That Time Of Year

 

Supper, Friday December 27, 2019: gnocchi and oysters (onion, broccoli, shiitake, portabella, parsley, parmesan, cream, gnocchi, salt, pepper); stuffed mushrooms (goat cheese, baby bellas, paprika).

Oysters are available all year now, but there is still something a little special about having them over the holidays. My father loved oyster stew. My mother, who would have died before eating an oyster would nonetheless make it for him. I'm not as big on the stew as he was, but I will eat them any way they come. I am especially fond of them raw. Alas, I am immunosuppressed. No more raw seafood for me. 

Boo.

  

Patience. . .

Supper, Saturday August 19 2019: pizza (dough (bread flour; water; salt; yeast); sauce (crushed tomato; tomato paste; oregano; thyme; granulated garlic; granulated onion; pepper; red pepper); italian sausage; smoked oysters; onion; jalapeno; mushroom; black olive; parmesan; mozzarella.

Almost no one does this at home. It's a pain in the ass. It requires some skill (but it isn't brain surgery). It also requires some specialized equipment, or in lieu of that some special techniques. Although I have not mentioned this before we actually have this fairly often. I will talk about this more in the future. For now let's look at the dough. Just the make up, not the shaping. 

The ingredients are pretty simple. There's just four. I used to weigh. It really is more accurate, but for crust we can be a little less rigorous than if we were trying to make a good baguette. (Some might argue that point. Don't care.)

Measure 4 cups of bread flour into your favorite bowl, assuming your favorite bowl is at least 4 quarts. Add a scant 2 cups of hot water. Again, I used to measure the temp, but now I just use the hot tap water. At the same time get a small bowl, an ingredient bowl, whatever you want to call it, and place a little hot water in it. Basically the "scant" you left out of the big bowl. Also add a dollop of honey or half of a teaspoon of sugar. (OK, that means it really is five ingredients. I just put it in there to boost the yeast. It is not needed.) 

Mix the flour and water until the flour is mostly wetted. Sprinkle the salt on top, 2 tsp. Do not mix it in. Set the dough aside. This BTW is the "autolysing" step. This allows time for the enzymes in the flour to convert some of the starch into food for the yeast. 

Now go back to the water and honey. Add a packet of yeast, or if you have a bulk jar then add a teaspoon. Mix and leave it. Now this step is not really necessary, but it doesn't hurt, it can speed things along if you are in a hurry, and it allows you a natural timer for the autolysing step. You could just put all the water in the flour, mix, then sprinkle the salt and the yeast on top. Wait 20 minutes then start mixing.

When the yeast is really working, it is time to get mixing. Add the foamy mess, and fold the nascent dough in on itself a few times to incorporate the yeast water. The real mixing now starts. 

Starting on one side start pinching the dough with your forefinger and thumb. Use your middle finger if for whatever reason you have trouble with the forefinger. Keep pinching along the dough until it looks like a fat caterpillar. 

The dough will be sticky. You want the end result to be just a little sticky so add flour as you mix. Don't be afraid to add a small handful at the beginning if the dough is super sticky. 

Fold the head and the tail of the caterpillar over the middle. Mush it down. Rotate a quarter turn. Make another caterpillar. Lather. rinse, repeat.

How long? You will start to feel the dough getting more homogenous. You might encounter lumps that are much harder or dryer than the rest of the dough. I pinch at these with my fingertips to break them up. I should mention here that there is a temptation when hand working sticky dough to get the dough stuck on your hands by rubbing them together. Don't do this over the dough. It makes lumps. Those rolled up balls of dough end up hard balls of dough. After two to five minutes (more like five for the beginner), finish with the mush step. You should have an ever so slightly sticky homogeneous lump. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest 15 minutes or so. Again, I'm not a stickler. (I gotta remember that "sticky homogeneous lump." That is a great phrase.) 

Now for the kneading. Without this step the dough will not stretch. You will not be able to make a crust. The goal is to gently pull the dough in a way that allows the gluten to align and thus give the dough strength and elasticity. 

Imagine a pile of loose wool. Not very strong. You can tear it apart easily. Align the fibers and twist to keep them aligned. The resultant yarn can be very strong. This is what we want to achieve.

We are going to do something like that. First we need to prepare hands and dough. If the dough still seems a little sticky, flour your hands and the dough LIGHTLY before starting and keep your hands floured to prevent too much sticking. If the dough is just right or maybe dry, then wet your hands LIGHTLY and keep them wet. Wetting is preferred for this part but do what you gotta. 

To do the knead grab a big pinch along the edge of the dough blob. Stretch it a little less than the width of the blob then twist it 1/2 turn then fold it over to the middle and press it in. Rotate a bit to a new spot that was not affected by the stretch and start again. Repeat this 4 to 6 times to make it around the blob. When you are all the way around you should have something that looks like a weird twisty ball or a giant Kaiser roll. 

The first time will look a little rough.

Now we are not finished but we are finished for now. We want to let the dough rest then repeat the pulley-twisty thing. Cover the dough with a towel and do something else for a few minutes. 5 minutes or so later the dough should have sagged some back towards a blob rather than a ball. Now repeat the knead and let rest. Do this 4 - 6 times. You are done when the ball mostly stays a ball and it is smooth and a little velvety on the surface. The dough will resist pulling quite a bit at this point.

It will start looking better as you repeat.

Dust with a little flour, underneath too.

Cover with the towel again and leave it to rise.

This seems like a good place to stop.

We'll get to this stage next time.

Yes, black olives. There's smoked oysters on there too. Yum.

Fried And Boiled, See Balanced

Supper, Monday June 24, 2019: shrimp and cauliflower. 

This ended up being a late dinner. I was going to make something more complicated with the shrimp. I had the cauliflower ready to bread early in the evening. Then two things happened. Alexis had a late/bad close to the shift. She had fires to put out that held her up an hour and a half. Even before that I started to run out of steam. So by the time I got the notice that she was going to be very late I didn't have the energy or the desire to execute anything complicated. 

Riffing on that I decided that I had enough energy for the cauliflower 'cause it is a gift from the angels. Plus some of the prep was already done. Boiling scrimps is quick and easy. If the fryer is hot and you have some water simmering then you are only a few minutes away from eating. This was beneficial since I did not know when she was going to get to leave. Finally, we both like these two foods VERY much. It would make us feel a little better.

No, we did not eat all of those shrimp. We saved some for breakfast. It was difficult to not eat all the cauliflower, but we managed to hold back enough for her to take for lunch the next day.

Hit It With A Hammer

Various: salmon patties and stuff.

I have in the past called these croquettes (as opposed to croquetes which instead of eating, you hit with a hammer). That is not really correct. It sounds more appetizing than "patty" but what is pictured is held together with egg and bread crumbs. A croquette uses a thick bechamel or mashed potatoes as a binder. It's a detail, but details are sometimes important.

Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo Dat

Supper, Friday March 22, 2019: nibbles again? (sardine fillets; olives; artichoke heart; corned beef; hummus; goat cheese; grape tomato; blueberry).

I was thinking about how this evolved, why do we eat "nibbles" frequently? (You don't see all the meals, obviously, and nibbles often mundane, not worthy of comment.) I came up with two primary reasons.

It's easy. "What? Easy? Who has all that crap ready to go? Ain't nobody got time fo dat." Lemme 'splain. This is an exceptional example, but I really did have all this stuff just "layin' around." Some are staples in our pantry. Others were purchased for another meal and here are the leftovers repurposed. I keep tinned fish, olives, and interesting cheeses on hand. The corned beef was for reubens. I just make hummus periodically, we both like it a lot. We use it in some capacity for several meals. Blueberries and grape tomatoes were on sale. If blueberries are on sale I shoot first and ask questions later. I will figure out what to use them for. So yeah, I really did just throw this together. 

It's slow. It works well with our evening routine She gets home. I finish supper. She cleans up. We talk about the day. She decompresses about work. I nod and make the appropriate expression. We do the crossword. Oh, and we nibble.

Round And Round. . .

Supper, Sunday March 17, 2019: round stuff (salmon croquettes; fried green tomatoes; peas; carrots).

Round stuff on a square plate. Whatever shape, it's yum.

Soul Food. . . Ish

Supper, Friday February 22, 2019: fried catfish; sweet potato; bok choy with lemon and feta.

If you told someone you were having soul food for dinner and they asked what specifically. The answer "Catfish, sweet potato, and greens" would be received with a nod of approval. (By anyone who knew soul food.) If you replied, "Fried catfish, sweet potato, bok choy with lemon and feta" you will likely get a different response. 

Call it soul fusion.

Rut Roh Raggy

Supper, Monday February 4, 2019: mystery dish (rice, I think, with verde sauce) grilled shrimp 

and pineapple.

The biggest problem with getting behind on this has been forgetting exactly what some of the meals actually were. This is a case in point. That is a homemade verde from tomatillos that we grew but I am not sure what is under there. 

A trick I learned many years ago in the restaurant biz was to skewer shrimp then marinate in cheap italian dressing. It provides a little acidity and fat along with the flavors so lemon juice and butter are in my opinion not necessary. 

Fried Fartiflower

Supper, Friday January 25, 2019: fish fry (fried catfish and cauliflower, black eyed peas).

I have mentioned before that I have something akin to a physical addiction to fried okra. I could almost say the same for cauliflower. Something magical happens to it when it is breaded then fried. It may have at least a little to do with the fact that I use seasoned salt on the florets before breading. What is especially rewarding is that the grocer I use in Savannah always has an abundance of cauliflower and it is almost always very reasonably priced. I am also not afraid to buy the marked down heads that have a little mold in some spots. (There is a limit to my tolerance for this. As long as it is superficial and not widespread I am OK with it.)  I just shave off the blemishes. I don't care what the appearance is since I will be breading anyway. 

I will also mention here that we often get the "catfish nuggets." They are actually the belly pieces left from filleting the whole fish. They are oddly shaped and sometimes require a bit of trimming but I am no stranger to a knife. The biggest difference is that the bellys come with the peritoneum (lining of the body cavity) still in place. It might appear that it would be tough like the pleura that must be removed from ribs. It is not. I don't detect it in the finished product. It might make the end result have a stronger flavor but that for us is a bonus.

Oh yeah, I'm not sure that beans AND cauliflower is a wise choice. 

Demon Squid From Hell

Multi-meal entry circa Tuesday January 22 2019: variations on a squid.

I like shopping at the little asian grocery near our Asheville home. It is fun to poke around looking at the odd (for the western palate) ingredients that would not normally be available in our "normal" grocery. I have also found that some foods are substantially cheaper. Sesame oil for example is much less expensive than if purchased from our usual grocery. We also like trying some of the weird snax, garlic shrimp chips, say no more. 

On this visit they had squid. A lot of squid. So I bought a lot of squid, in the form of one really big squid. 

I made some nabeyaki with some of it. We had squid and grits the next day for breakfast. I also made a seafood stew not pictured. 

My initial concern with a squid this large was that once cooked it would take on the consistency of a wet rawhide. It CAN do just that if not cooked properly. Overcooking is the best way to ruin a good squid. For fried calamari you want to pull it from the oil just as it starts to brown. Unfortunately this means that the breading is sometimes not well bonded to the squid. A bit of lost breading is just the price you have to pay. 

For the stew and the nabeyaki I add the squid after I turn off the stovetop. The latent heat in the liquids are enough to cook til tender. 

Happy Sushi Day!

Supper, Tuesday December 25, 2018: sushi;

das it.

I've probably already mentioned this but I'm too lazy to look. Alexis and I aren't so much into the Christmas thing. I'm not certain I could explain it fully. There are a lot of reasons. The big ones are: It's a set of rituals that people (gentiles perhaps more accurately) are expected to participate in while so few have a deep understanding of its history and origins. The holiday as celebrated in the US is a  weird blending of incompatible theologies. The consumption thing is out of hand. It's grotesque. Oh, and don't get me started on the decorations.

I did not grow up that way. It was celebrated with gusto in my family, but here's how not into it I am. Last holiday season I had to look up when it was. I don't mean the day of the week. I had forgotten that it is on the 25th. That might be a little embarrassing, but it does demonstrate just how little I give a. . .hoot. 

We do take advantage of sales to make some purchases. This time we got a wicked good deal on a washer/dryer combo. Multiple discounts and and rebates. We don't "Christmas shop." We lurk online cynically looking for deep discounts and make in person purchases only if necessary. 

Point is, Alexis volunteers to work the holiday so somebody else can be with their kids or whatever. (We are not so nihilist that we do not recognize that nearly every nominal Christian, and even a few others, place some value on the holiday.) Also for the last fifteen years give or take, Christmas dinner has been sushi.

I suppose it is our personal version of the orange on the seder plate. 

You Got A Salmon Thing Happenin' There

Supper, December 9, 2018: bagel with cream cheese and lox.

I normally don't show meals that I did not prepare but this one had to be celebrated. 

The short version is that I have a friend who likes to use his air miles to visit states. He has been doing this for years. I started going with him the last few trips (usually one a year). One of the stops on this trip was Mystic Connecticut. I was excited because they have an aquarium that has beluga whales. I've never seen them in person.

One of the whales, Juno, paints. I'm not making it up, Google it. I was so enthralled I bought one. 

It's called "Ocean Sparrow." It hangs in my library. (Really just a nice den/reading room.) When I look up from this convertible It is right in front of me. It makes me happy.

Something else that makes me happy:

That's not sand. That's gravel. That sucker is about a foot long. Pure nightmare fuel. Don't look too long or it will haunt your dreams. Forever. 

It'll probably eat your feet too. 

Also in Mystic was a diner. They had lox. I hadn't had that in a while. I was glad that I was a hankerin' for some salmon 'cause they did not scrimp on the lox. Seriously, look at the picture. There are actually two slabs of salmon one atop the other that are thicker than the tomato slices. It had to be a third to a half a pound of fish. It was almost to much.

I managed to choke it down. 

I had to see it was a fluke (lol) so I got it again for breakfast. No fluke (lol).  I managed to choke it down.

Well Since The Fryer Is Out. . .

Supper, Friday November 2, 2018: Fried oysters; fried taters; fried zucchini; fried mushrooms.

Sure that is a lot of fried food, but remember "everything in moderation including moderation." Live a little now and then. 

Lemme talk about breading. 

I'm persnickety about breading. 

1. My first rule is season the food not the breading. I want to have seasoned bread I will just get some herbs in olive oil and dip some crusty french pieces.
2. Flour the food. Coat the product, whatever it is, with plain flour. This is important because it gives the wash something to cling to.
3. Make sure the product is thoroughly coated in the wash. I like to use a wash that is half egg and half buttermilk. Some like one or the other. That's OK. There is one little quirk to my choice. When blending the egg and buttermilk together the egg often starts to gel. I think it's a ph thing. Whatever the cause it is reversed by adding just a little bit of water, an ounce or two depending on the amount of wash.
4. To transfer the washed food to the crumbs I like to handle as little as possible. If is is a large item like a piece of fish or a slab of green tomato I use a bamboo skewer. If it is a bunch of smaller things I use a spider.
5. Coat the food well by rolling and packing it into the crumb mixture. I like a 1:3 mix of flour and breadcrumbs. This is where I get really crazy. Plain breadcrumbs from the store are OK but they are too dense. The alternative then is panko, but I find it to be too greasy. So I literally bake french bread slice it dehydrate it and grind it in the food processor. The end result is crumbs that are a mix of sizes and shapes. A good second best is to buy day old french loaves at the grocery, slice them and let them dry out for a couple of days. finish them in a warm oven, 175 or so, then process.

That is why those mushrooms in the picture look like they are high end pre-breaded frozen.

It's Octopuses

Weird road food edition

So we were traveling home from our beach condo and planned on making a stop in Savannah to eat. Alexis is always down for Mexican but I wasn't feeling it. I was more in the mood for Thai. While I was looking on the Google I was reminded of a sushi place we recently tried and liked. So I was like "What about that sushi place?" Then she was all like "Hells yeah!" So then I was like "OK then make a left up here."

Yeah, not a fan of the quotative "like." Say or say not, there is no like.

The place has a baby octopus "salad." I guess it's a salad 'cause it's got sesame seeds, soy, and sesame oil. Really it is just a bowl of chewy yumminess (assuming you're into that sort of thing). Anyhoo we shared the "salad" and some sushi and soup. A great way to start the trip.

Oh, yeah. octopuses always sounds weird to me. I have always wanted it to be octopi. Cactus? Cacti. Alumnus? Alumni. Octopus is not a Latin word. It's Greek. So it is octopuses. My position though is that we are using a Greek word in English that sound Latin-ish. Do we really need to adhere to the original plural form? We should make it an honorary Latin word. Octopi forever!

One Of The Greatest Combos Ever

Lunch, Monday July 16: lox bagel (sesame bagel, cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, 
lettuce, onion, capers).

I didn't put this together. There is a new coffee shop down the street that I really like. They have a small menu of sammiches and other tidbits. Most importantly, they always have shortbread, one of my favoritest thingses.

This is also a nice example of the penchant for Americans to create culinary mash-ups. Scandinavians devised the method of preserving salmon in salt. Native Americans smoked it. The capers are Italian. Cream cheese probably originated in Britain. The crusty chewy ring of manna probably started with Uigher merchants on the silk road.

New Yorkers put them all together.