January 30, 2011

Had mixed results with dinner today.  I make some wheat berries sauteed with onion, garlic and preserved lemon that turned out pretty good.  I cooked the wheat berries in the crock pot and they got a little overcooked. I also had to drain and rinse them which probably removed some of the nutrients. This was my first time cooking wheat berries so I guess it wasn't too bad after all.  I roasted a chicken with a herbed butter under the skin. I checked it with a thermometer and it registered 165 but the breast was not cooked through.  I cut it up and put it back in the over for 15 minutes which cooked it through. I think the next time I cook chicken I'm going to butterfly it and cook it under bricks.  I also made some boiled parsley potatoes with butter.  I hate when recipes do not turn out.  I guess those are learning experiences.

January 29, 2011

This has been a rather uneventful week. Except for throwing my back out and staying home from work on Friday. Did not due much cooking this week. I did make some Ham, green beans and potatoes one night and some chicken enchiladas but that is it.
Tina is off scrap-booking all weekend so I am left to my own devices. I am not doing much as my chiropractor told me to rest this weekend. I did get to see him on Friday afternoon and have to go back on Monday morning.
I am trying to decide what to make for Sunday as I know Tina will be hungry when she gets home. I am thinking about a nice roast chicken with maybe a whole grain and vegetable side dish. I will have to look for recipes tonight.
I did make some sausage gravy on toast for breakfast today which always make me feel better.

Mitaka Restaurant

I had the opportunity of going to Mitaka Restaurant at 560 S 29th St
Harrisburg, PA 17104 for dinner on Friday. Actually, we were originally going to Sakana on Linglestowun Road, but they did not open until 5:00. We arrived early, around 4:30, and were the only one's there. They advertise Sushi and Dim Sum and the sushi menu is very extensive. The Dim Sum, which is ordered from the menu, not selected from carts, is limited. I believe they have the carts on weekends but I forgot to ask.
I ordered the roast pork steamed buns(3) along with the seaweed salad, both of which were very good. I also ordered Manhattan Roll which has eel, cucumber & avocado topped with thinly sliced eel and tokiko along with Hamachi(yellowtail) & Masago(smelt roe) sushi. My bill was $38.00 which I thought reasonable. I found everything to be well prepared and tasty. I will certainly go back there again.

January 23, 2011

As I added yesterday, the stew needed more salt, probably to 2 teaspoons.
Made the Breakfast Sausage today using Alton Brown's Breakfast Sausage. Tina would like it without the thyme but I like it the way it is.
I will leave it in the refrigerator until tomorrow night then package it up and freeze it.

January 22, 2011

Back from Costco's about 12 pounds of pork shoulder, it's sausage time.
My first batch was Mexican Chorizo. I looked on the web for recipes and found one at Homemade Chorizo Sausage by Patrice Knezevic. I followed the recipe but my gut told me to reduce the salt but I ignored it. I should know better by now. The sausage turned out to be too salty. Not bad enough to ruin it but, when I use the sausage, I will have to reduce the added salt. I also ground it twice, first using the coarse plate and then the fine one. I rolled it into 1/2 pound packages and froze them.
I also cut up enough to make Alton Brown's Breakfast sausage but that I will make tomorrow.
I bought a chuck roast at Hummer's on Friday as Tina want's beef stew for Sunday.
I decided to create my own recipe for this. I made it today since stew is usually better made the day before.
Here is the recipe I used I will post corrections or additions if needed
-= Exported from BigOven =-

Beef Stew - Roasted Red Papper

Recipe By:
Serving Size: 4
Cuisine:
Main Ingredient:


-= Ingredients =-
3 pounds Chuck ; cut into 1" cubes
2 meduim Onions ; diced
2 stalks Celery ; diced
4 cloves Garlic ; minced
5 sprigs Parsley ; torn into pieces.
1/2 cup Roasted red peppers ; diced
2 medium Tomatoes ; seeded & diced
1 teaspoon Harissa Paste
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Salt
2 each Bay Leaves
32 ounces Beef stock
8 ounces Carrots ; cut into 1" chunks
1 pound Potatoes ; cut into 1" cubes
1/2 pound Frozen peas

-= Instructions =-
Brown beef in batches in oil. I rendered the fat of the chuck but you could use olive oil or bacon fat.
Remove and keep warm
Saute onions & celery until just tender. Add the garlic, red pepper and parsley and cook for another minute or two.
Stir in 1/4 cup wondra flour and stir for a couple of minutes, adding more oil if needed.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the Harssa and tomatoes.
Put in a crockpot and cook on low for a couple of hours.
Add the remaining vegetables and cook for another hour or so.
Add the peas about 10 minutes before it's time to serve.



** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. **
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After eating the stew on Sunday, you could probably double the salt to 2 teaspoons.
Made Cheddar Biscuits to round out the meal.

January 21, 2011

Tonight was pasta with bacon, goat cheese and heavy cream. I sauteed the bacon while the pasta was cooking. I took the bacon out of the pan as sauteed a whole clove of garlic in the bacon fat, removed the bacon, added the drained pasta and some reserved pasta water to keep it from sticking. Then I added some slices of goat cheese and cooked it over medium-low heat until the cheese melted, added more reserved pasta water is it seemed dry. Finished it off with some heavy cream, butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Then sprinkled the bacon back on right before I served it.
Tina thought it could use more cheese, I figure it was good and more cheese might make it better. Maybe some chopped parsley would be good also.

January 20, 2011

Made some Pork BBQ from some smoked pulled pork I did this past summer.
I made some BBQ sauce that was just OK. I had to put it together pretty fast since I had a church meeting at 6:00. I have to work on a pulled-pork sauce recipe.
Not one of my better attempts.

New Cheese Find

When we went to the Farm Show last Friday and happened upon Leraysville Cheese. Bought some of their XXXXX Sharp Cheddar that was nice and bitty. They also had seasoned cheese curds that were good also. I was on their website and found they also have Limburger but it's from Wisconsin. There shipping is kind of salty so finding a local supplier is in the works.

Took at trip to Lancaster today to do some shopping at the Outlet Malls, the Apple Store at Park City and Addisu Ethiopian Restaurant. They do not have as full a menu as restaurants in DC, what they have is very good and, from what a good friend of mine who is Ethiopian, it is very authentic. If you want a unique dining experience, you should try them, but get ready to eat with your hands.

January 16, 2011

This was mostly a week of non-cooking.  With class on Monday and Wednesday, lodge on Tuesday and Thursday and the Farm Show on Friday, the week is shot.  Went to the Cabin Fever Expo in York on Saturday with Bob Ryder and, with Tina watching football, we just snacked in the evening.
Now it is Sunday and I promised Tina I would make lasagna. I found a recipe for Classic Italian Lasagna by Giada De Laurentiis. I made the tomato and bechamel sauce yesterday along with Home-Made Ricotta and home-made pasta dough. Got up this morning and sauteed the hamburger (I did add some sauteed onions and garlic to the meat). After church I rolled out and cooked the pasta and put it all together.
Tina gave me a bunch of crap about putting spinach in the lasagna. I will let you know how that turns out. I will have to say that the tomato sauce recipe is a good one. I used San Marzano tomatoes which really helps the sauce. This would be good for pizza or pretty much anything that calls for a tomato sauce.

January 11, 2011

I had to cook for lodge tonight.  This is their annual Pork and Sauerkraut dinner which meant I had to compete against tradition, they always cook it all together. I broke from tradition and used the following recipe for the pork.  My sauerkraut recipe is the Braised Sauerkraut recipe from James Beard.
Here is my pork recipe. Comments welcome.
Calvin



                      -= Exported from BigOven =-

                        Braised Pork Shoulder

Recipe By:
Serving Size: 8
Cuisine: German
Main Ingredient: Pork


-= Ingredients =-
2 medium Onions ; quartered
1/2 head Garlic
2 stalks Celery
3 stalks Rosemary
2 sprigs Thyme
6 pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder ; in mesh bag
Salt & pepper
2 cups Apple Juice

-= Instructions =-
You can use two smaller roasts to total 6 pounds but you will have to adjust the roasting time. 
You do not have to peel the onions or garlic. Just cut the onions in quarters and cut a head of garlic in half. 
Cut the celery into large.
Place the vegetables and herbs in the bottom of a roaster and place the pork on top. Pour the apple juice over the pork and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the pork and then seal with aluminum foil.  Place in a preheated 300° oven  for 4 to 5 hours.  You can tell when the pork done when it's temp is around 170° and the thermometer goes easly into the meat. If it seem tough, leave it in longer. 
Remove pork and tent.  You can either just strain the liquid or run it through a food mill, whichever is easier.  Bring liquid to a boil and thicken with cornstarch slurry. 
Once meat has set for 30 minutes, slice and serve with gravy.
Leftovers can be used for pulled pork.
I make this for lodge and everybody raved about it.



** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping.     **
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January 9, 2011

Had to make some chicken soup for my wife today, she's been under the weather.  I found Mexican Chicken-Hominy Soup in December, 2010 Cooking Light.  I substituted turkey breast for chicken since I had leftover turkey breast in the freezer.  I also added shredded cabbage and some deep-fried corn taco strips.  Not bad for minimal effort and time.

Pinto Bean Dip

I was hungry for some Mexican Bean Dip and found a couple recipes that we kind of what I wanted. I decided to combine the good points of them and come up with my own.
Here it is;

-= Exported from BigOven =-

Pinto Bean Dip

Recipe By:
Serving Size: 1 1/4
Cuisine: Mexican
Main Ingredient: Beans


-= Ingredients =-
1 can Pinto beans ; drained & rinsed
1 each Jalapeno peppers ; sliced
1/2 teaspoon Granulated onion
1/4 teaspoon Granulated garlic
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
Olive oil ; as required

-= Instructions =-
Combine drained pinto beans with the other ingredients in a food processor. Puree ingredients on high speed until smooth.
Use olive oil to thin as needed during processing.
Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.

Makes 1 1/4 cup.






** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. **
** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **

January 8, 2011

While at market Thursday picking up my pork roasts for the lodge dinner on Tuesday, I saw a nice top round steak at Hummer's Meats at the Broad Street Market. I guess I need to make a plug here for Ryan. I purchase most of my meats from there. It is top quality meat and I can get what I want. I stop in a week or two before I need a special cut and ask Ryan. I have yet to be disappointed. If you decide to try them, tell Ryan I sent you. Their website is Hummer's Meats.
Anyway, back to cooking. I used some of the round steak to make the Ultimate Beef Chili. Although Tina said it needed more meat, I found it to be quite good. I did not add the beans since Tina is not a big bean fan. I served it over rice. I actually cooked it while I was making the risotto last evening since chili is best if it sits a day.
I added about two tablespoons of raw sugar to balance out the tartness of the tomatoes. This is another keeper.

January 7, 2011

After a disappointing meal yesterday, we went with Shrimp & Pea Risotto from Eating Well. This turned out rather good. It would also be good with lobster or scallops. I did not use the seafood stock as called for in the recipes. I thought this might make it a bit too "fishy" tasting. I could be wrong on this but I do not think so. I also did not add the preserved lemons since I do not have any. I think I will pick up some lemons at the store this weekend an get some preserved lemons started.

January 6, 2011

On a roll with some good recipes, it was time to try Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta from Eating Well. This was a disappointment. Just another pasta dish. Not sure if there is anything that would help it either. Oh well, they all cannot be great recipes.

January 4, 2011

Remembering to get some chicken breast out of the freezer, it was time to try Chicken and Black Bean-Stuffed Burritos from Cooling Light. Since the chicken was raw, I julienned one breast, cutting the recipe in half, I sauteed it with the spices and then continued following the recipe.  This was another good recipe, especially if you have some leftover chicken to use up. My only modification to the basic recipe would be to use no more that medium heat to saute the burritos one filled.  Medium-high heat causes them to brown to fast and not heat through.

January 2, 2011

On the heals of a great New Years dinner and a decision to start eating healthier, I turned to Eating Well, a magazine I subscribe, for help.  In the February issue they is an article "Slow Food, Fast". Among the recipes listed were two recipes, the second made from leftovers from the first, which is the basis for this article.  You can find these two recipes at Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onion Gravy and Brisket Sloppy Joes. The Sloppy Joes are made with leftovers. These are both keepers.  Tina said that the Sloppy Joes would make an old sneaker taste good.  My only suggestion on the Sloppy Joes would be to add a little cayenne pepper to spice it up just a bit to balance out the sweetness from the brown sugar and molasses. The basic brisket recipe stands on it own as is.
Since it's just the two of us, the basic brisket recipe made enough for three brisket dinner with enough left for one recipe of the Sloppy Joes,  which is enough for two meals. 

New Year Day

This New Years I deviated from normal. I did not make my traditional center cut bone-in pork loin. I found over the years that, although this was moist, it was also tough.  I decided to make a 4 pound bone-in pork blade roast in the crockpot. I added sauteed onions and apples to the crockpot first, then the pork with some rosemary and garlic.  We were extremely pleased with the outcome.  It was very moist and tender.  I did the sauerkraut in the oven as usual and it turned out just as good.  Did not really follow a recipe for the pork. The sauerkraut I always follow a James Beard recipe I have which uses chicken stock and juniper berries.

Beginning another new year

Well, starting this January I'm going to start posting more to my blog.  I have started reviewing recipes I've tried on Eating Well and Cooking Light.  I hope to get some followers as that will give me incentive to keep this blog up to date.  I will be posting either entire recipes or links to recipes I've tried on line.  I also will be using Big Oven to keep track and post my recipes. Please post comments.
Thanks
Calvin