handmc
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Posts posted by handmc
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After a horrible week, it was a pleasure to enjoy the morning Java catching up on your blog. I miss Ann Arbor, the star of Michigan. I lived Lansing for 4 years and spent another 4 years about 5 minutes north of Flint.
The pictures of the wine store and deli remind me of happy times kicking around Ann Arbor and all of Michigan. Its a neat place to live. One of many indelible food memories is the Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant in Detroit. But I digress....
Loving to feed large crowds living as a part of your community looks quite inviting. Also attractive I imagine is the sense of community you share with the other members. Sharing joys and burdens with many on a near daily basis must forge some very strong relationships.
Thank you for bringing us into your home and community.
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Wow, what wonderful photos.
I had an eggplant parm sub for dinner.
Another lost opportunity. -
I would definately use a rub. I also spritz with a mix of red hot, apple juice and maple syrup in a spray bottle every hour or so. I think you are running little tight on your cooking time if you are going to smoke at 200 degrees given the size of the meat, even if it is cut in half.
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My wife and I were served 6 year old roast once by a "friend" who always had us over to cook "real gourmet food."
He let us know about half way through - his meal- we stopped eating after his announcement. He and his wife kept eating....
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If you have a spare $500.00 a china box does the job real nice.
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To take this in a slightly different, but related, direction there are also cases where two or three ingredients are all thats necessary for an eating experience. That's another form of "less is more".
I'll use the example of a good high quality pork chop, enhanced with only a bit of salt and a nice coat of fresh ground black pepper.
I think you nailed a major issue for me lately. I made blackened salmon tonight, yesterday now, and remebered how much I like the stuff..I haven't made the dish in years, then it dawned on my why. It got to a point everything was drowning in spices and goop, or cajan, etc., and it all started to taste the same. I also found out that kids don't like heavily spiced things, well not all the time. So I had to go back and seriously re-tool how I was doing things. It was a great and humbling lesson.
I made a decison to go the direction of french and eastern foods to get balance back into my cooking. Having regained my balance a bit I am starting go back to spicy faovrites of the south and middle east and italian food. I find my dishes are better for it. My kids are also starting to eat what I cook rather than the chicken strip mac and chesse diet. "shudder"
I love any kind of food but in dialing back how often I make dishes and the level herbs and spices I use I'm much happier with the end results. I don't like bland but it is nice if you are going to eat fish to actually taste it.
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Blackened Salmon, Rice, Corn and Green Beans
I don't know why I don't eat more fish.
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Made meatloaf for the 1st time, for my GF, now wife. I came out soupy, that's right soupy! How it even could have happened is beyond me.
She still laughs at me for that one.
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I love this thread, pure comedy. I also sudder to think, since I cook often for firends and family, that perchance there may be a story where either I or my meals are a topic. I hope not. I try hard to please.
At least I know no one will go away hungry, assuming the food to them is edible, I always make more than I need.
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Ellen:
I feel like a dolt for being so pushy. My apologies. I hope you are feeling better.
What wonderful news. Babies are great fun! I hope your pregnancy goes well and you have a nice happy healthy baby.
What stories you will be able to tell!
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Did the butcher and his wife ever warm up again after the picture episode. I wonder why someone would react so strongly. I know what you mean though. We have one real butcher left out in the country here. Nicest guy. It will be a sad day indeed when he hangs up his apron.
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Ellen:
I know it is a huge amount of work, but will there be a part 4? I enjoyed the first three installments so much I check back almost every day hoping to find just a few more words and pictures.
Also, where are you going next? Will it be as remote? A differnt culture? Do you need a family of four to carry your camera?
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OK stoopid question. What's 'butt'? We don't have the expression in England.
Its also known as a shoulder, picnic shoulder, Boston Butt or Fore leg of a pig. The rear leg is a ham (fresh or smoked.) Not a stoopid question. Did you notice the picture on the right? Its from a recent England v. Ireland rugby game.
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Here I go my first attempt at pictures:
Spring's first Butt. (at least for me it was) Also enjoyed was creamy coleslaw and BBQ beans. Pear Strudel for dessert.
Who says you can't get decent Q north of Philly!
Yeah! it worked!
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Pulled pork creamy coleslaw bbq beans and pear strudel!
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Yeah cooking school is back in session! New dishes, I can't wait to see what comes next.
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Food mags sometimes, however it being April it was nothing but lamb and ham in everything I picked up. Pretty bleh. We don't get cable out here and it was a pledge week on PBS no luck there.
Feeding the kids I the biggest challenge, the most frustrating part of cooking everyday. The wife and I love hot and spicy foods, foods from different countries and its just not on budget time or expense to cook two sets of meals everyday.
However, my now old friend, Egullet came through, I was pretty stuck last week torn rotator cuff, etc., then I drooled over Daddy-A's foodblog
the excitement was back! Then I was exploring the Mexico threads and wound up making Tinga and then for a first time empanadas. Outstanding flavors some new dishes the kids would even eat.Today however was a Big winner. A whiff of smoke while I was standing at the bus stop with my girls. I looked longingly over my at smoker, my sweet Betsy, ah maybe this weekend I thought. Yes I named her.
Then neighbor stopped buy and asked if the could cut up some old maple I had on the property, I said sure, and asked if he could cut up an apple tree that didn't make it through the winter.
I took a phone call and looked out to see how he was doing and there was a tidy stack of seasoned apple wood. That’s all I needed, I was off like a shot to get a picnic shoulder, a rack of ribs, some cabbage and beans. It was a beautiful spring day. Not too hot, not too cold.
6 hours later the ribs came off. Succulent tender, spicy, juicy and smoky winter was gone in one bite. I tended to the pork and when I came in the wife, sister in law and my daughter finished the ribs with the exception of two for a family friend. Ah the smoky smell of success the shoulder was looking good.
Two hours later I pulled the shoulder off. The meat was incredibly juicy, deep smoke ring with for the first time a specked red color deep into the meat.
It was bliss. Creamy Coleslaw, BBQ Beans and the best pulled pork I ever made. The pear strudel for desert was pretty special as well.
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My favorite reduction: I'm a bit loopy, I don't normally give this out. After over a year here what the hell, I've been given so much more. Some would also say Meh, your point?
I'm assuming we are not limited to beef. My favorite is a saffron cream for clams, works for any other seafood.
It is shallots about a dozen minced;
1 head of garlic sliced paper thin;
1 bunch of parsley chopped fine at the end to look pretty
1 large pinch saffron, hence the title
The broth from steaming clams, strained
1 cuo white wine
2 cups Hvy or Whipping cream
salt
black pepper
fresh grated nutmeg
fresh grated lemon rind and knob of butter and
a dash of paprika to finish.
Sweat the Shallots and Garlic until they start to take a little color add white wine, stir add parsley and saffron, reduce by half then add the cream and the rest of the herbs and tasting as you go. Reduce till you can make a line on the back of your spoon
It should complement the seafood not crowd or overpower it.
You have it right when they still ask for it after their plate is empty!
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Drooooool.
I went to a late st pat's feast with dips etc. I made salsa with mangos, blood oranges and chorizo. I also made a pear struddle.
Main course was some awesome tenderloin salt and pepper only and we made a nice sauce with butter, the drippings, some rosemary a bay leaf and some thyme and the open bottle of cab sav.
The roasted potatoes were made with butter salt and pepper and some rosemary . We also enjoyed some asparagas steamed very gently with butter.
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Dessert in addition to the aforementioned struddle was dipped strawberries, chocolate cake, scones, etc.
Good Irish Coffee to end the meal.
Alas, a fine time was had by all. I am blessed.
Good feasting to all... gooodnight my friends!
edited to resemble englished but the dam screen keeps moving! Too much...oh bugger firget it!
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I love tinga pablano. I had a really good recipe two hard drives ago. I have been craving it for weeks and I would like to make it for some friends this weekend.
Anyone have any recipes they can share?
Well I found a recipe it is this below:
· 1 1/2 lbs. ( 680 grams) boneless pork loin or shoulder, cut in 2" cubes
· 1 small onion
· 4 cloves garlic, peeled
· 1 bay leaf
· 1/4 lb. (170 grams) chorizo
· 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
· 3 tomatoes, roasted or boiled to loosen the skin, then peeled
· 2 canned chipotles en adobado (that's two chiles, not two cans!)
· 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
This is what I did to it.
I took a boneless pork shoulder and trimmed off the fat and silver skin, then I chopped 4 onions, a head of garlic, 5 fresh bay leaf, one good stick of chorizo sliced thin then chopped, 6 pasillia peppers, 1/4 cup evoo; sweat till clear then; 1 cup rancherea sauce, 1 large can chicken broth; 1 tbs dried oregano, 1 tbs fresh epazote, 1/2 cup cilantro; salt and black pepper to taste. Salt to taste.
Making this dish was a labor of love. The broth OMG, is was so tasty it would be a soup by itself! Cook the chunks of meat until they fall apart. That's it nothing more to do but enjoy in a taco or a tostada, or in my case with corn and and boiled chopped potatotes as empandadas. Yum.
It was a very fine albeit I don't know a if very authentic dish. Little work but taste that will blow you away.
Since no one else posted a recipe try this let me know what you think.
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I'd sure rather play this game than the Rachel Ray game.
"Yum-o!"
"I wish you could smell this!"
Arms flaying to express nothing, upper body leaning way back.
Referring to her audience as "you guys"
"E.V.O.O. , extra vigin olive oil"
etc, etc.
This was so funny I shot milk out my nose! All I could picture was the robot from Lost in Space spinning about flailing its arms with Rachel Ray as the voice over.
I think the Rachel Ray game would be an even funnier drinking game.
Just think if they did one of FTV's famous marathons we would all end up in rehab!
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After Brooks' Phd course in frying chicken I dare ask has anyopne tried mixing in some yellow cornmeal into the flour? Last time I made chicken I soaked it in buttermilk with spices and hot sauce then rolled it in a mix of peppers black, paprika and cyanne, salt, some thyme and a 50-50 mix of flour and yellow corn meal. I don't know why I did it, just messing around. It was really good.
Having tortured myself in reading this entire thread in one sitting I have resolved to make chicken this weekend. Its to late to start now or I would.
I like it with buttery mashed potatoes and a steaming side of Roma tomatoes, baby limas and okra.
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My GOD! That looks sooo good!
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Yesterday: Swiss Steak - sounds silly but made it for the first time. Not fancy but braised goodness it was.
Today: a dilaudid, a flexoril and a box of carmel delight cookies. There's not much to scournge up at 3 am without waking everybody. I predict good things for later today though. I'm thinking Tinga Pablano and fresh corn tortillas
Worst meal at someone's home - Part 1
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
We were told the roast had been in his grandmother's freezer for 6 years and they had been cleaning it out and he asked, yes asked, if he could have it rather than throw it away.