Thursday is for Cooking
Photo by Ex-PH2
It’s Thursday. Weekend is coming up sooner than you realize.
Someone wanted to know where to post recipes, since the “Recipes” column really hasn’t been updated in a long while. It simply got to be too cumbersome.
Instead, how about if we try a column where everyone can post their favorite dishes (and dis on each other, too)?
There are bacon dishes galore to be found and tried, one of them being bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken, a decidedly low-calorie dish for those watching their waistlines (as they expand).
So have at it, and enjoy the products of your fertile imaginations.
The veggies pictured are perfect for a chopped salad: yellow squash, zucchini, radishes, green onion and grape tomatoes. Add small chunks of beef, fish or ham, your favorite cheese – I like Roquefort for this – use a good vinaigrette dressing, and include a small, but insolent white wine and some crusty bread from that small bakery on the corner, and you’ve got a good start. It’s also a good way to put a good meal together at a minimal cost.
Category: Economy
And on the eighth day God created Bacon. Bacon is the Blue Tooth add on for old geezers. It makes everything better. Corn and green leafy veggies can be made more tasty by feeding to a pig or a cow. Then you grill or smoke the pig or cow. Serve with cheese.
No potatoes? And what vintage beverage? Beer, ale, stout or lager?
Tater salad cold beer; stout, repeat as needed. Peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream for later
Now you’re talking.
Hey Ex, came across a recipe for Chicken Bog, a peasant dish from South Carolina. I promptly ignored the recipe and made it this way. You’ll need:
Some lipid to start. I use olive oil
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 pound smoked sausage of choice, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups white rice
White wine, just like any cook in the history of forever.
S&P, and seasonings (I like McCormack’s Poultry Seasoning, YMMV)
Heat the oil in a dutch oven or any pot with a lid and sear the chicken thighs, remove.
Brown the sausage slices, remove.
Add veg, sauté (or sweat, cooks choice) until desired doneness is achieved. Deglaze with some white wine.
Add chicken stock and thighs, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove chicken thighs and add rice, again bringing to a boil and the simmering for 20 minutes or so.
Shred the chicken, add to pot with sausage when rice is done. Stir to combine.
Serve and bask in the accolades of family and guests.
Be advised, this makes a metric assload. The wife and I have had this the evening I made it, a leftover dinner a couple nights later (it just gets better in the reefer) and son #2 just polished off a bowl, and there’s STILL some left.
Okay, now I’m officially starving.
Easy-peasey, looks good from where I sit, too!
Put some South in yo Mouth. This dish does go way back.
Oh yeah, and if some peeled and de-veined shrimp falls into the pot, so much the better.
BAM! Belts loosened all around.
We make a version of this with Old Bay Seasoning.
Warning: Just like AW1Ed mentioned, you will eat this for several days
Hear Hear!
Mrs Dino sautees Brussels Sprouts in butter and garlic, then she fries up some bacon, not the normal grocery store bacon, but that good thick stuff with just the right amount of fat.
She mixes it up, bakes it for just a few minutes and serves. The Lil Dinos (15 and 17) gobble these mofo’s down.
I call them heart attacks disguised as health food.
I’m moving to your house.
My mother’s idea of how to fix Brussels sprouts was to boil them and put some salt on them. They were just awful.
How would salt pork work with that?
Salt Pork would probably be freakin’ yummy!
Youre welcome to drop in anytime you happen to be crossing through Washington State and going by Kennewick 🙂 If you head out this way you should let me know. We could probably talk Roger into coming down from Republic and think Atkron and a couple of the other guys are in the Seattle area. I have to let you know though…I live in a desert, well a shrub-steppe if ya wanna be technical. Its not how most people envision Washington state.
Hmm, sounds like I’ve driven through your AO a couple times over the last few years DT. Got some friends up in Pendelton OR, and took some trips to the coast from there..
Got it!
East of the Sun, and West of the Moon!
Well, my standby for when I have to cook for people coming over is the following”
Take a beef summer sausage or Polska Kielbasa and cut it into 3-4″ lengths. Now slice each section lengthwise, then cut it into about 1/2″ chunks.
Put a little EVOO into the pot (I use a large pasta pot for this) and add in a mix of diced stoplight peppers and a Vidalia onion. When they start to get about done, toss in the chopped meat and let it all cook up nicely.
Now drain and add a can of black beans and a can of pinto or red kidney beans, whatever you like.
Turn down the heat, put on the lid and let it all simmer on low heat while you make a big pot of rice.
Let everyone help themselves to rice and beans and make sure to have some cold beer to hand to wash it all down with.
Looks good, Tim. I’d add some cumin and either chili powder or some red pepper, for a South of the Border touch.
If you kids behave I may post Mrs. Dustoff’s secret Korean Bulgogi recipe someday. It’s been handed down over generations….(not really, she got it from her sister in Seoul, but that sounds a lot cooler)
I’ll see your Bulgogi, and raise you a shrimp pancit.
i’ll see your Pancit Canton and raise you some Dinauguan and Pork Sisig!
When i get down to only vegetables in a dish, please ask me to stop… I think i have a Pinoy food addiction…. and admitting it is the first step so they say 🙂
Does she have a good Yakimandu recipe? That has to be my all-time favorite Korean dish!
Lumpia for the win!
Dessert time?
Key Lime Pie
Original recipe makes 1 – 9 inch pie
Ingredients
5 egg yolks, beaten
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker or frozen pastry pie shell
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well. Pour into unbaked graham cracker shell or par-baked pastry shell.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Top with whipped topping and garnish with lime slices if desired. Or make a
meringue topping with the egg whites and sugar.
Occasionally, I can find real Key limes at Walmart here in my kingdom.
Even better! The bottled stuff from the Keys works, but only just. Can’t beat fresh squeezed lime juice.
even more betterer… substitute Calamansi for key lime for a really special treat… damn this Pinoy food addiction! i.. i need to find me a monkey on a stick fix STAT!
Then it wouldn’t be Key Lime Pie anymore.
Too old and set in my ways for Philippine Calamansi Lime Pie…
*grin*
Having spent a few years more-or-less living out of a suitcase, I’ve started getting interested in kitchen stuff again now that my house is further along in the process laughably called “renovation.” Since TAH apparently has many black belts in cooking fu with skills far beyond that of myself, I don’t have a recipe to offer, but do have a couple of questions.
A few weeks ago, I happened to run across a used copy of the Larousse Gastronomique on Amazon. It’s a hoot, but not all that day-to-day useful unless you actually need to know, say, six ways to cook marinated ox ears with braised endive or whatever. So here’s the question: Which cookbook, if any, tends to get used a lot by TAH’s resident culinary commandos?
I’ve also started using a bread machine to save trips into town, but think the bread could be better if the machine was used for just the dough cycle, and have the loaf finish baking in the oven. Unfortunately, none of the instructions I’ve run across have been very detailed about time/temp settings and so forth. This includes The Bread Machine Book, which is otherwise fairly good.
Anybody have any experience with this?
MIL’s favorite cook book was “Some Like it South.”
https://www.amazon.com/Some-South-Junior-League-Pensacola/dp/0961362200
Haven’t used a bread machine in years and ours would complete the dough-to-loaf cycle, so I can’t help you with that. A trick for baked goods doneness is to stick a toothpick in the loaf; it’s done when the pick comes out clean.
Check here for some help:
https://www.thekitchn.com/fresh-baked-how-to-tell-when-b-106715
Thanks, Ed. I’d forgotten about the toothpick trick. There was also a suggestion on the link to use a thermometer to check for internal temp at around 200 degrees. I’ve got a digital unit I use on the BBQ all time.
As near as I can tell, the drill is to take a 2 lb. batch of machine dough, split it into two loaves and let it rise for at least an hour. Baking should take around 40 minutes at 375 degrees.
For simple, easy to fix meals that will feed XX per recipe, I go to the Betty Crocker site. I get their e-mail. Lots of casseroles, which are easy to fix and usually very tasty, and can be cut in half or doubled/triplled – whatever, to suit the number of people at a meal.
I also have the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook (red & white buffalo plaid cover), which has every kind of meal item you can think of, with accurate instructions for prepping and cooking and number of portions per recipe.
Ex, it’s interesting you would mention the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. One of my recent Amazon orders included a circa 1981 used copy. A general impression is that it was written for the boiled-water challenged. A typical recipe might go something like this:
EASY CHILI
Go to the store.
Buy a can of chili.
At home, open the can of chili.
Put the chili in a pan.
Heat the pan of chili on the stove.
The chili is done when it’s hot…
Can’t ever go wrong with a B Crocker or a BH&G. Both well versed classics. The Nebraska Life Magazine put out several excellent worldly diverse books, made up from all the old school pioneer recipes. Lotta East European, Scandinavian, Danish ect. Good stuff. Mama, Granny, and Grandmother used the old little of this, some of that, and pinch of the other. Mama made sure all of her boys could find their way around a kitchen. Came in handy while wading thru spousal units. (snark)
I found my mother’s 1953 BH&G edition, and except for the names of ingredients (shortening instead of butter or margarine, flour instead of recipe-specific flour), there are few differences.
On another note, the Fanny Farmer Cookbook is now in reprint from Dover Books, as well as the Plimoth Colony Cookbook.
Some things never die.
Perry,
Out here on the homestead, I’m only allowed to cook, not back. That area of food prep is the exclusive domain of the missus. I just looked, and can’t find the book she uses, but she’s got one on artisan bread making, and she turns out the best damn bread you’ve ever had. I’d check Amazon for books on Artisan Bread.. just don’t forget to buy a baking / pizza stone, that is critical for the crispy crust you’ll want..
Fyr, I actually tried the method described above last night. A 2 lb. batch of machine dough divided into two loaves and baked in the oven at 375 for 40 minutes was close.
Something that needs improvement is that the time needs to go a bit longer. It gets the bread to 200 degrees but, although edible, doesn’t seem quite done. I also didn’t bush the loaves with anything such as water or egg yolk, so the loaf crust was crunchy but didn’t brown the way it should.
The bread texture also seems off, and isn’t what I’m after in an artisal loaf. I’m not sure what that’s about. Maybe it needs gluten added or something like a sponge/sourdough starter.
I haven’t tried baking with a stone yet but happen to have a couple of 12 by 12 terracotta tiles around that might be worth a try.
I’d assume that as long as they’re not glazed, they should work fine.. I also recall her having a metal baking dish on the lower rack, the stone on the top, and at some point in the baking, throwing a cup of water into that pan… If I can find her book, I’ll give you the title.
Spicy Low Sodium Ketchup
Ingredients
* 6 oz can tomato paste
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 tsp garlic powder
* 1 tsp onion powder
* 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
* 1/2 tsp ground mustard
* 1/2 tsp ground allspice
Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a bowel. Mix well, removing all lumps. Chill and store refrigerated in a covered container.
Thanks, E-GGS, this looks good and I will try it. Low sodium works for me.
Breakbreak, home made Mayo?
Home Made Mayonnaise
Ingredients
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 pinches sugar
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup oil, safflower or corn
Directions
In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and dry ingredients.
Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a separate bowl.
Thoroughly whisk half into the yolk mixture.
Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit, (which means you’ve got an emulsion on your hands).
Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (but just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant (albeit thin) stream. Once half of the oil is in add the rest of the lemon juice mixture.
Continue whisking until all of the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, then refrigerate for up to 1 week. Very acidic, bacteria can’t survive here.
Try it, you won’t buy the stuff from the grocer any more.
Hat tip to Alton Brown.
BOO!!
Down with the Devils condiment!!
Horseradish Crusted Tenderloin. Take a few (some like more, some less, depends on how big the tenderloin is) horseradish roots and peel them, then cut them into about 2 inch squares. Put them in a food processor and pour in any kind of white wine, about a cup. Get a cup of white vinegar. Chop the horseradish until it is smooth. Start your timer set for about 2 minutes. At two minutes pour the vinegar in and blend. The vinegar stops the heat. I did a 3 minute batch one time and it set fire to my porch.
Take the tenderloin and slather it with the horseradish, both sides. Put it in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
Build a fire in the grill. Personally I use pecan chips for the smoke, but that depends on your personal preference. Cook about 2 hours at 225F or maybe a little less, indirect heat. As you turn the meat on indirect heat, continue to slather with the left over horseradish. Comes out medium rare.
Ain’t saying it is good, but I cooked it for a bridal shower, and a high end restaurant cooked theirs and I got told by everyone who had mine that it was head and shoulders above the restaurant’s.
This deserves the time it takes to fix it.
Good old MRE recipes as well, like when you’d crush up the lovely crackers, mix them in the pouch with cheese spread, a dash of water along with some Beverage Base Powder, Cherry Flavor and *VOILA!*, MRE Cheesecake! Kinda reminds me of the time when a past Girlfriend asked me to choke her so I gave her a Popeye’s biscuit with nothing to drink!
Came up with this for pork ribs. My new favorite.
Apple Cider Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup hard apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory or applewood)
1/2 cup onion powder or grated onion
In a large saucepan, combine ketchup, rice vinegar, apple juice, cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, white pepper, cayenne, and liquid smoke. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then stir in the onion powder.
Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Stir frequently.
Allow sauce to cool. Makes 3 cups.
Hmmm… could go well in smoked sausage w/BBQ beans…. really well.
Instead of that too-sweet commercial stuff, use this. Fall will be here soon.
Who’s waiting for fall; smoked sausage is defrosting as we type and I think I have all of those items in inventory. This Southern Boy do loves him some BBQ. Don’t forget the cornbread and cat head biscuits!
I finally got myself a sous vide immersion circulator. For those not familiar, you put your meat (or veggies) in bags and then put them in water. The immersion circulator brings the water to a very accurate temperature, so your meat ends up at exactly the temp you want. You can also put marinades, seasonings, and such in the bags. Things also cook in their own juices, since nothing is let out.
So far I’ve done both beef filet and lamp chops (frenched of course). I cooked both from frozen. Did the steaks for 2 hours at 135 degrees and the lamp chops for 1.5 hours at 137 degrees.
Once done cooking, they come out of the bag looking a little dead. The fat cap isn’t rendered down and the meat has a grey/pale appearance. So finish it off in a screaming hot skillet. Couple minutes each side to get a nice crust and cook down any fat cap. End up with a steak cooked to perfection all the way through.
Delicious. The best part is how simple it can be. I like to buy bulk at Costco, so I buy big and divvy things up into foodsaver vacuum bags for the deep freezer anyway. Now I just drop it in the water bath and come back in an hour or two.
Just got ours (pronounced Soo-veed) and am liking the results. You’re correct in the appearance; I under cook by a couple degrees and fire up my charcoal grill for the finish.
Fork tender and full of flavor- small wonder high-end restaurants have been doing this for years.
ok, you guys have me jealous now! Wife says i need to turn the whole 1st floor into a kitchen for all the gadgets i want, and this one is definitely near the top of the list!
Time to bring out the big gun, Chocolate Lava Muffins.
Ingredients
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• Butter, to coat muffin tin
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes. Chill mixture.
Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter. Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey.
While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan. Stir in the espresso powder. Spoon mix over the muffins, and go to a better place for a while.
Ok, now that is just wrong in so many ways. Show off, now you’ve gone from bragging to gloating.
Dude, I’m not gloating, I’m sharing. Is this awesome? Yes. Is it easy? Yes. It’s chocolate panty remover, and might could even tame Dave’s Soviet, at least for a while. So I’m here to help.
Or not.
I’ll gloat tomorrow with The World’s Best Crab Cakes (again), or perhaps Last Meal BBQ ribs.
Later tater,
AW1Ed
You are the man. Will be hitting the K Roger today to gather these ingredients. Am a chocoholic from way back. Never been able to do a good crab cake, crab meat kept falling into a butter lemon juice mix before it would cake up. Never met a BBQ Rib that I wouldn’t dispatch. Careful on taming Dave’s Soviet. Might cause him to talk good about you.
In public? BWAHAHAHaHahahaha….that’ll be the day!
Trick to crab cakes…
Crab Cakes
Keep it simple.
1 pound crab meat.
2 eggs
1/4 cup mayo
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
a few dashes Worcestershire sauce
S&P
Old Bay
Panko crumbs as needed
Flour
Mix eggs, mayo, juice and zest, Wooster sauce in a bowl.
Add S&P, Old bay, mix.
Gently fold in the crab meat.
Add just enough Panko to firm up the mix.
Form into patties and dust with the flour.
Refrigerate for at least an hour (this is key for pan frying- skip flour, etc if broiling).
Cook ’em up.
Pan fry for about four minutes a side, or broil until brown, flip, repeat.
Thanks, gonna be all over this. Pre packaged crab meat isn’t that common in my AO. Usually have to settle for frozen legs. My meat market man had said he could get it in on special order, but the quantity was a little more than I could use. Throw a crab cake party?
No raspberry sorbet with that muffin?
Chocolate desserts and raspberry sorbetto seem to go together like bricks and mortar. I will find a sorbet recipe and work on it.
Ex, the melted ice-cream-expresso mix is just a serving suggestion; if you want raspberry sorbet on yours, I for one will not be insulted.
Dark cherries would be nice, too, or just bin it all and go for a deep red wine.
I’ll have two, thanks. Yum.
Ok, I may be breaking some rule here by giving it away, but it’s too good not to share. As some of you may know, fire trucks, when operating at a fire have the wheels chocked, to prevent them from running away, should the transmission jump from “pump” to “road” (not sure it’d actually stop a modern rig, but we still do it) Anyway, that’s where the the name for this comes..
Wheel Chock Meatloaf:
2 lbs hot Italian sausage
2 lbs ground beef
Italian breadcrumbs
2 15 oz cans diced Italian tomatoes
S&P, Italian seasoning
3 eggs
1 lb thinly sliced pastrami
1 lb good quality Provolone cheese
Mix the first 6 ingredients, seasoning to taste to make the basic meatloaf recipe (you can also use whatever your favorite recipe is)
Cover large baking sheet with plastic wrap, and press meatloaf mixture into pan to create an even layer, covering the whole tray.
Lay out pastrami in an even layer on top of the meatloaf mixture, leaving a 1 inch margin on the sides, and a 2 inch margin on one end.
Repeat process with provolone. Then, using plastic wrap to assist, roll the meatloaf tightly, starting at the edge with pastrami / cheese at the edge. once you’ve rolled to the end with the margin (the pastrami and cheeses will shift a bit, but should still leave you enough to press closed) press the ends closed, to seal in the cheese when it melts.
Remove plastic wrap, place seam side down on the baking sheet, and cook covered with foil at 350 until meat thermometer in the center reads 135 (medium). remove foil, set oven to broil for 3-5 min (to get a nice crust), remove from oven, let rest 5 min, serve with mashed potatoes and green beans
Stovies!
Stovies are great on a cold fall/winter evening while sitting by the fireplace. Serve with a pint of good stout, and follow with a dram of good single malt Scotch.
Ingredients (serves 4):
About 10 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 beef stock cube
1 beef Oxo cube
1 tin of corned beef, cubed
salt & pepper
Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook until it is nicely browned (be careful not to let them burn).
2. Add the sliced potato, the stock cube, Oxo cube and about 300ml of water. Stir and cover.
3. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potato is soft and has soaked up the stock.
4. Add the corned beef and stir to combine.
5. Season with salt and pepper as required.
A perfect “comfort food”. Enjoy!
Below is something I cooked recently. What I liked most about the idea was that it took four days to marinate. The ribs were a hugh hit!
Kalbi Ribs
Author: A Piece of Mi
Traditional Kalbi Ribs using LA cut beef short ribs!
Ingredients
3# Three bone cut beef short rib
8 cloves garlic
½ medium onion
1 medium size chunk of ginger
1 large asian pear
½ C water
1 bunch green onions, plus some for garnish
⅔ C soy sauce
½ C mirin (rice wine)
1 tsp ground black pepper
5 T brown sugar
2 T yoshidas
¼ C sesame oil
Toasted/ground sesame seeds (garnish)
Instructions
1. Peel garlic, ginger, onion and puree together with ½ C water and pour into a large bowl
2. Puree asian pear and add to the bowl
3. Add in soy sauce, miring, pepper, sugar, yoshida’s, sesame oil and green onions (cut in one inch pieces)
4. Mix together and taste, adjust as needed, should taste how you want your meat to taste like
5. Rinse the ribs under cold water to get rid of gristle, etc
6. Lay ribs down in one layer in a container, cover with some of the marinade, continue to layer the ribs with the
marinade
7. When you are done press it down and make sure the marinade is covering all the meat
8. Let it marinade for 4 days
9. Grill over charcoal on high heat, until you get some char as
This one is my own recipe – Spicy BBQ Baked Beans. I sell these at my VFW functions when we have our food trailer up and running. I also make them for special events and I’m asked for the recipe quite often. On the peppers, I like the beans very spicy but I tend to make them more mild for those lite in the panties.
Ingredients:
Bush Baked Beans, 4 cans
Bulls Eye BBQ, 3 bottles
Brown Sugar, 1/3 lb
Bacon, thick sliced, ½ lb
Mustard, French’s, 2 tb spoons
Horseradish sauce, 2 tb spoons
California Chili Peppers, 6 to 8
Onion, ½
Dice the peppers, onion, and bacon as to desired size. Sauté ingredients but not completely. The purpose is to precook them so they meld best into the beans. Open the cans of beans and drain sauce. Place into crockpot, pot for the oven, etc.
Dump the beans in, mix the Bulls Eye in, add the brown sugar, mustard, horse radish sauce, and the sautéed mixture. Cook for a minimum of an hour depending on temperature.
Eat. One hour later take your blood sugar reading.