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.

Ain't No Substitute Fo' Your Rub. . .

 

Supper, Friday May 14, 2021: smoked ribs; fried cauliflower; fresh bread.

I've done ribs before, so I will stick to only the latest development. I ran out of rub. Ribs can be smoked without rub. A mop sauce is probably more common anyhow. I typically use a mop, but I also put a rub on then start the smoking only introducing the mop about 2 or 3 hours in. 

I didn't have any mop sauce either.

Basic mop is easy to make, just Google it, but I wasn't feelin' it. Mopping requires a level of attention to the smoker/grill that I was not ready to commit to. I didn't want to put the rack in the Weber naked. The surface dries out too much and becomes stringy and chewy. This is OK in small doses but over the whole surface it's a bit much. How does a dry rub prevent this? After all isn't the name "dry" rub?

As I have stated before, I am no food scientist, but I have a theory. Brown sugar. I think the sugar dissolves in the "juices" which are also hydrating the dried, ground components. Then the magic happens. The heat dries the wet paste out and into a crust. The crust protects the meat surface from drying too much.

The real problem was not that I was out of rub. I make my own. I was out of paprika, almost. Paprika is often the first ingredient in a rub blend, and mine is no exception. What's a fella to do? On my spice shelf sits a jar of chili powder. It's kinda rub-like. The spice blend is a little different and it is missing the sugar, but it is in the ballpark. 

I started with a healthy portion of my chili blend. I added what paprika I had to thin the heat. Spicy ribs is OK but too spicy is a distraction. My chili blend has no salt so I added that too. Finally I tossed in a heap of that so important brown sugar. 

The ribs are good. Srsly good. So good I am going to modify my rub recipe to make it more chili-ish. 

I guess there is a substitute. Rub the one you're with.

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. 

Nice Buns

 

Supper Sunday April 19, 2020: cheeseburger (with all the stuff); sweet potato chips; italian green beans. 

I'm beginning to get much better at the bun thing. Ya gotta make the loop in the knot really big, bigger than you think it needs to be. That also means that the dough rope needs to be a lot longer than you think it should.

I have got to get my raised beds put together soon. We are beginnning to get low on some of the canned goods that we regularly eat. This might be the last jar of Romas. I have to create some garden space for next season.

The Mayo Has Not Spoiled

 

Supper, Friday March 26, 2020: burger; fruit; fries.

I like homemade fries, for about 30 seconds. After that they go soft and rubbery and greasy. Boo. 

I finally solved the problem, at least for us. I suppose this works also for julienne fries but we like disks. I slice them a quarter inch on a mandolin. I usually leave the peels on unless they have gotten too much light. The trick is temperature and timing.

Get the oil to 325f, cook the fries to done. When you pull them they will immediately go soggy. Let them rest at least a good five minutes while you bring the oil to 375f. Now drop them again and cook to desired color. They will last a lot longer.

The green stuff is not turned mayo. Avocado, mushed and spread.

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 What's For Dinner

Supper, Wednesday January 15, 2020: blackeyed 

pea falafel.

I'm quite fond of this recipe for a couple of reasons. I really like blackeyed peas. The same goes for any of the beans in that family, cow peas, field peas. . . Some of these were once considered fodder so found their way into the diet of poor southerners (historically, read some whites and most blacks). My father fit the bill so I learned to like cow peas. 

Blackeyes are easy to cook. They do not require soaking and they do not take a long time on the stove. Solves the problem of "I'd like some beans for dinner. . . well I guess tomorrow." Most other beans require a much longer time investment.

Broad beans, favas, are a pain in the butt. You have to peel them. The alternative, box mix falafel is WAY too salty. OK, that's three, or maybe four. Anyhoo, I like this falafel mix.

Poop. I don't know where the recipe is. It's mostly just falafel sub blackeyed peas, but when I started writing this I was gonna put up the recipe. I'll have to look and post later. 

BTW Brass does not like January.

 

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.

  

I Don't Feel Petite

 Christmas dinner: petite filet, roasted roots,

broccoli casserole.

We're not big on Christmas. Not judgey just not our thing. However, I hate to miss the opportunity to make a special meal. Particularly when the most expensive part is free. 

We have a young man who rents the apartment in the upstairs of our house. We cut him a sweet deal in trade for help with maintenance. He helps cuts the grass, helps with projects, . . . He just graduated from college. That is where I met him from my former life. 

What's this got to do with anything? I think his parents are appreciative of our offer (and maybe the fact that he didn't have to move back as many Millenials have). They were very sweet and sent us a small kit from one of those frozen cryovac steak companies. They were PFG.

Oh, I'm Thankful All Right

Supper, Tuesday November 19, 2019: Sunday Roaster.

I should really remember to smoke things more often. So what is stopping me? I think it is a paradigm that I have manufactured about the task. I tend to always go big. Pork shoulder, brisket, turkey. . . They are all a big time investment. Plus there is the whole "How are two people going to eat this before it turns" problem.

There is s simple solution. Just go smaller. Half butts are available or most grocers would be happy to cut one for you. There's turkey breast or a duck. I smoked a meatloaf recently. What's above is not a turkey but one of those plump little roaster hens. It was our Thanksgiving dinner since Alexis always works over the holiday.

We had some roasted taters too. I love those purple guys.

Remember, if you roast potatoes, got overboard a little. Leftover roasted spuds turned into home fries in the morning are sublime. (Under the eggs.)

 

Do German Leaders Have Lumpy Heads?

 

Supper, Tuesday October 08, 2019: cheeseburgers (homemade bun, LTOMWK, cheddar, 80/20 beef).

I use the same recipe to make pizza dough (mostly) as I do to make a couple of loaves of bread. The drawback, or benefit, is that it is too much dough for the size pizza I usually make. Lately I have been making buns out of some of the dough. Two rolls reduces the dough by just enough. I have even found an easy way to make Kaiser rolls. This was one of my first attempts. Not so good. I've gotten better. 

The method is amazingly simple. I was surprised it worked. You start by rolling the dough into a rope. Then you tie a loose granny knot in the middle. You finish by continuing wrapping the ends around the loop and tucking them in/under. Google it. It's not hard to find. The key is don't futz with it too much trying to get it perfect. That is what I did to those above and it did not go so well.

I was trying to make a joke about Kaisers and oddly shaped bread. Dumb.

Caulifarter. . .ah. . .flour

 Supper, Wednesday October 06, 2019: fried cauliflower and some other stuff.

Or is it fartiflower? Either way. . .

Scatological humor aside, I do love this stuff. So does Alexis. I really like cauliflower in about any form: steamed then covered with shredded cheddar; sauteed as part of a stir fry; raw with dip or in a salad; in a spicy aloo-gobi. Most of all I love these little golden nuggets. Something special happens inside the breading while the florets are steaming in their own liquids. 

Just beware, when refrigerated as leftovers they take on a peculiar odor.

Fartiflower.   

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.

Captain Beefheart

Supper Sunday June 2, 2019: heart stew (beef heart, garlic, onion, celery, mushroom, roots).

If you are looking for a strong beefy flavor, look no further. We have a grocery that caters to the latin and hispanic communities. It has a large section of imported foods from spanish speaking nations. At one end of the meat counter is the "weird stuff." Chicken feet, honeycomb tripe. . , and heart. They are vacuum wrapped halfs (a whole heart is as big as your head).

I trim off the sinewy parts and fat. Just wait before you go off about fat and flavor. Cube the remains and toss with salt and pepper. 

The fat et al goes into the pot to render. I let the dogs have the rendered gobbets. At this point they are losing their minds 'cause the the house smells like beef blood. For obvious reasons the metallic odor of blood is strong.

Brown the meat in the rendered fat. Add oil as necessary. 

Add the onions and garlic to sweat.

Cover with water and/or vegetable stock/bullion. There is plenty of beef going on here. Toss in a little thyme and parsley. I like a tiny pinch of tarragon - been kinda into tarragon lately. Now heart is tough (duh). It needs to simmer a bit. This is why I don't flour the meat to make the roux with the browning meat. I don't want to chance the gravy sticking during the extended simmer. Time? Depends on the simmer heat, the age of the meat. . . It can take a few hours. It's like cooking goat curry. Simmer until it is starting to get tender then add the veggies. Whatever vegetable you like. I didn't have parsnips this time. I like them in this. A little barley is good too. 

Finish with a light brown roux salt if necessary.