For Costume Party, which was the latest food party. Most of you won't know anything about it, because most of you aren't people we talk to, really. Of course, most of you don't actually read this blog either.
I made some french fries. I made 3 sauces. 1 sauce is a ketchup; the other two sauces are not ketchup. I should have done more sauce to really sell the effect, but I didn't.
I know I haven't posted anything in a while. Shut up. Shut your mouth.
Ketchup:
4 quarts tomatoes
2 quarts vinegar
6 chopped red peppers
4 tablespoons salt
black pepper
2 tablespoons dry mustard
3 tablespoons allspice
Peel tomatoes and place in a kettle with vinegar, chopped red peppers, salt, black pepper, dry mustard, and allspice.
Green:
2 C mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 T scallion (minced)
1/2 tsp. (or more!) jalapeno pepper (seeded, minced)
1 T lime juice
1 T cider vinegar
2 T fresh parsley (chopped)
2 T fresh cilantro (chopped)
1/2 tsp. salt
Yellow:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 cup Ranch dressing
So for my birthday I got a package of dried Bolete Mushrooms that my Uncle Jim picked from the forests of Central Arizona. I was directed to this website which has a few recipes. The Creamed Potatoes and Mushrooms were the inspiration for the gravy I made here. The rest of the recipe was just a simple Port Tenderloin (bought in the package pre-seasoned and ready to roast) and some frozen Broccoli. I will just focus on the preparation of the mushroom gravy and potatoes.
6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 milk
salt
pepper
1 cup dried boletes
1/2 cup cooking wine, (I mixed some red and white just for kicks)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp butter
1 package brown gravy mix
So I cooked up the potatoes, but just boiling the peeled and cubed potatoes until they were tender, draining them, then adding milk, butter, salt and pepper and mashing until smooth.
For the boletes, I sauteed them in a little butter for a few minutes, then added the cooking wine and chicken stock. The mushrooms had a lot of moisture to absorb so I covered them and let them simmer for about 10 minutes. I then opened them up and let the liquid reduce down for another 5 minutes. A few pieces were still a bit big so I spooned them all out onto a cutting board and started chopping until they were in small pieces. Meanwhile in the uncleaned pan, I made the gravy by following the directions on the package. After it just started to thicken, I added the mushrooms back and kept whisking until it was gravy.
The taste of the boletes wasn't at all like typical button or brown mushrooms. Instead they had a real nice sweet nutty flavor. Pretty rich as well. When I heated the left overs today for lunch, I put some on the pork and it was very nice. So if you ever find yourself in the possession, or even possessed by, bolete mushrooms this is a good recipe to make. Also, I have 1/2 a package left of the mushrooms so if you have a suggestion for what I should do with them, let me know.
Alright, I think it is about time for some crazy Vittles and Mangia posting time. To start us off, I'm challenging all y'all in making either a soup or stew and posting it. It's the Soup Stew Challenge. So come on, lets see what you got. Soups are easy to make, or at least some are. Put your veggies and meats together and try to beat this stew that I just made last night.
I made this not really having a plan ahead of time. I just started chopping and ended up making really too much. The largest pot in my house was filled to within a half inch of the rim.
Here are my ingredients.
1 onion
2 potatoes
1 large zucchini
4 cloves garlic
1 green bell pepper
2 ear corn, fire roasted
1 whole chicken
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 inch cube fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon Pho paste
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon black pepper
salt
water
cilantro
1 lemon, juiced and zested
oil or butter
I had all these ingredients at home before starting except the chicken. I ran out to the store, grabbed the chicken and was ready. I wanted to give the chicken a little more flavor, so I put it on a baking sheet, greased up the skin with oil, and rubbed on a healthy dose of kosher salt. I put this in the oven at 400 degree. My aim was to get the skin all crispy and golden before tossing into the soup. While the chicken baked, I prepared all the veggies. With the corn, I have a gas burner and so I was able to slowly turn the corn over the flame and get it nice and roasted. I chopped everything up, and sauteed them in a couple tablespoons of butter with some salt to help them along. All in all this took about 30 minutes. The chicken was just about done so I pulled it out and let it cool. I added enough water to make it soupy, rather than stewy. I added the seasoning as the soup heated up. I didn't add any more salt because I knew the chicken would be pretty salty. If you need more salt, you can always add it right before it is served. Once the chicken cooled, I sliced off the breasts and chopped them into cubes. I removed the wings and drumsticks and put them in the soup, bone in. I would have added the thighs and the rest of the meat but the soup pot was too full, so I just put them back in the oven to finish cooking and then pulled it and put it in tupperware.
The soup stayed on the heat for another 30 minutes. Right before serving, I juiced a lemon and added the zest. I also chopped some cilantro and put that in my own bowl. Cilantro looses a lot of it's flavor when it cooks so it is best to put it on right before eating.
So yeah, that's my soup contribution to The Soup Stew Challenge. I don't expect people to try to replicate this exactly. And there isn't really a way to taste all the soups and judge them to see who's is best. There will be no contest. This is just a challenge. Make some soup or stew. Ring the Bell.
I tried my hand at a new dish, and though I made some major changes to the original recipe, it turned out really good. And yes, I know I am a king at plate presentations.
6 chicken drumsticks
1 large onion
2 potatoes
3 carrots
(1 red and 1 green bell pepper, but only if you have room in your pot, which I did not)
1 and 1/2 cups basmati or long grain rice
3 cups water
14 oz can diced or chopped or whatever Tomatoes
3 Tbsp Canola oil (or really any type of cooking oil is fine)
chopped Cilantro
1 jar Patak's Biryani curry paste. (the most difficult but most essential ingredient)
You will want to use the largest pot you have a top for, or cut the portions down. I started by chopping up all the veggies into similar size pieces. I put the oil in the pot and tossed in all the veggies and the chicken drumsticks setting the burner on high. I let these cook for a bit while stirring it down. I also added some salt to help it cook down. After about 10 mins, I added the can of tomatoes, rice, water and the whole jar or Biryani paste. I mixed that up and turned the heat down to medium. I put the top on and and let it do it's thing. I still opened it and stirred it every once and a while, once every 5-10 minutes so the rice on the bottom didn't burn. Once it all got real hot and bubbly, I turned down the heat. Essentially it is like making a jambalaya. It seems pretty wet at first but the rice ends up absorbing it all and it thickens up. This all cooked for about 30-45 more minutes. Now at this point it was probably done, but I had to go do some other stuff. To keep it hot and just to make sure the chicken was cooked all the way through, I turned on the oven, let it heat up, then turned it off and put the pot, with the top on into the oven. I left it here for about an hour and a half. When I took it out it was really hot still. Actually after it sat out for another hour, the rice was still steaming when I dug through it with the spoon. Who'da thunk rice with all it's starch held onto heat all that well. The final step is to add some chopped cilantro to the top.
So I don't really know if the last 2 hours of being in the warm oven did much, but it turned out really good. The rice was nice and sticky, the veggies were all soft, and the chicken was tender and moist. I would probably do things different next time however. I would decrease the portion size, by a lot. I might increase the veggie ratio to get more of that flavor, specifically on the onion. And finally, the chicken, while having perfect texture didn't really have a lot of flavor. I might try grilling it up first, or maybe marinating it in plain yogurt and tandoori paste.
Ingredients
24 to 30 pearl onions
4 chicken thighs and legs, or 1 (5 to 7-pound) stewing chicken, cut into serving pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
6 ounces salt pork, slab bacon, or lardon, cubed
8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 (750-ml) bottles red wine, preferably pinot noir
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, quartered
2 medium carrots, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock or broth
Directions
Cut off the root end of each pearl onion and make an "x" with your knife in its place. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and drop in the onions for 1 minute. Remove the onions from the pot, allow them to cool, and then peel. You should be able to slide the onions right out of their skin. Set aside.
Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, into a large (1 or 2-gallon) sealable plastic bag along with the flour. Shake to coat all of the pieces of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the bag to a metal rack.
Add the 2 tablespoons of water to a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat along with the salt pork. Cover and cook until the water is gone, and then continue to cook until the salt pork cubes are golden brown and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the salt pork from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, using the remaining fat, add the pearl onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until lightly brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. Next, brown the chicken pieces on each side until golden brown, working in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan. Transfer the chicken into a 7 to 8-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven.
Add the mushrooms to the same 12-inch saute pan, adding the 1 tablespoon of butter if needed, and saute until they give up their liquid, approximately 5 minutes. Store the onions, mushrooms and pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with approximately 1 cup of the wine. Pour this into the Dutch oven along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, quartered onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add all of the remaining wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. Maintain a very gentle simmer and stir occasionally.
Once the chicken is done, remove it to a heatproof container, cover, and place it in the oven to keep warm. Strain the sauce in a colander and remove the carrots, onion, celery, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Return the sauce to the pot, place over medium heat, and reduce by 1/3. Depending on how much liquid you actually began with, this should take 20 to 45 minutes.
Once the sauce has thickened, add the pearl onions, mushrooms, and pork and cook for another 15 minutes or until the heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, remove from the heat, add the chicken and serve. Serve over egg noodles, if desired.
Cook’s Note: If the sauce is not thick enough at the end of reducing, you may add a mixture of equal parts butter and flour kneaded together. Start with 1 tablespoon of each. Whisk this into the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes and repeat, if necessary.
It turned out really nice, I thought. I served it over mashed potatoes rather than egg noodles. The "wine" flavor actually wasn't all that strong at all. Most of the flavor was like a brown gravy but it was more full than just a simple gravy. Really the Beef Marsala I made a little bit ago had a stronger red wine flavor to it. This was just rich and filling, though once I did get full I thought the gravy was a bit much. Probably should have just stopped eating before I got to that point.
Alright, so I had a bit of a stomach bug yesterday, and felt well and truly awful. I couldn't eat anything. To fix it, I thought I'd take the age old home remedy of a platter of heavy deep fried food, what you see here: Chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp, onion rings, and french fries, all made from scratch. And what a colorful presentation it made!
-4 chicken breasts, cut into nuggety chunks.
-1 pound of shrimp, precooked, deveined, and deshelled.
-1 yellow onion, cut into rings.
-5 russet potatoes, cut into fries.
-1 can bread crumbs.
-7 eggs.
-flour, garlic powder, salt, black pepper.
-peanut oil.
Combined the bread crumbs with the other dry ingredients, saved the flour, which was in a bowl by itself. Stirred the eggs to make an eggwash. Then, more or less, you roll what you want fried in the flour, then the eggwash, then the breadcrumb mix, and into the fryer with the peanut oil. I had it at 375 degrees Farenheit. After each item was done, I'd hit it with a bit of salt, and the shrimp I squeezed lemon juice onto. We ate all this with three sauces: honey mustard, cocktail sauce, and buffalo ranch. Shaun made the buffalo ranch, Mike made the other two. Over all it was pretty good.
Can't tell you how well the cure is going to work on my delicate guts, but you know, all those old wives tales are pretty hit and miss. Ring the porcelain bell!
Hey, why wouldn't I post a restaurant review? Don't have an answer do ya shithead? Shaddap. I'll make it quick.
We've hit this place a couple times. They have killer deep dish pizza, made so because of its thick, soft, and flaky crust. They do these baked potatoes...wait for it.....as an entree! WTF? They're huge. Amber ordered one once and then, true story, brought a 747 screaming down into the parking lot with her new found gravitational pull. Also, something happened with the tides, but I don't remember. It was on the news, look it up.
Other super notable thing about the place is its house made sodas. They do a root beer, black cherry, and orange cream. I am particularly fond of the black cherry, iz sour. So there you go, that didn't hurt, did it? Ring the bell!
And also, apologies. It's been a little while since my last post. Don't worry, I don't feel too bad. After all, it's been a little while since your last post as well, so we're even.
There's no actual recipe for this one, just some meat I cooked up that Amber thought was particularly good. 1-1 pound boneless top sirloin plus some small chuck steaks.
Basically, I slapped some peppercorns and a good sea salt into them, then tossed them into a pan over medium high heat with a good splash of olive oil. Cooked for about 4 minutes on each side and then popped them into the oven at 375 for just under 10 minutes. While they were in the oven, I added a half clove of minced garlic and a handful of chopped white onion to the pan, along with a pad of butter.
Steaks came out and I set them aside to rest. Once the onion and garlic had browned up I reduced the heat to low and splashed in some red wine vinegar, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan for all the goodness as I did so. Then of course, this mixture went over the top of the steaks.
The baked potatoes were done the lazy way in the microwave. Salted them before cooking, topped them with colby jack, sour cream, butter, and more peppercorn.
That was it basically. Nothing really special, but this one turned out better than most I guess.
RING THAT STINKING BELL!
