Marlene

Meaty pork bones? This is what I need to know. For example, I saw some pork hocks at the grocery store today. Those or are they too fatty? What other cuts should I get?

I was unable to find chicken feet, but chicken stock is on for tonight. What I really want to make is a pork stock though. I assume the process is more or less the same, but what does one use? What are the best pork bones, meats etc to give a nice rich stock?

How about one of these? Flavia

I always take aspirn before I go to bed if Ive been drinking. For some reason when I do, I never have a headache in the morning.

Very nice to see you blogging again Jen. To encourage you on your WW journey, I lost 70 lbs on WW about 7 years ago and have been lifetime since then. I've slipped a bit over the holidays, so maybe your blog will encourage me to get back on track. Ryan had a bunnykins bowl and a mug and a plate when he was little but until I figure out where I packed them, I couldn't tell you what was on the bottom!

I haven't made pork tenderloin in a while. Thanks! You given me my idea for dinner tomorrow.

yes they would. But they'd kill me. You wouldn't want that would you Jin?

I'm sorry I didn't make the soup of the week DL, but I had confit, and I had beef stock, so I had to make French Onion Soup. It's simmering away as I type. I hope you're feeling better.

Beef Stroganoff tonight: I start with 3 sirlion steaks and cut them into strips: Ever since I read Bourdain's book, I keep thinking he's going to come along and thwack me if I don't have my mise en place before I start. I'm trying, I really am. start by browning the beef; And when that's done, remove it, (try not to eat all the pieces before you have to put them back in), add more butter to the pan and saute the garlic and onion. Add some flour, ketchup and pepper and stir it up until it's smooth. Add some beef stock (in my case, freshly made today!) and let it simmer away for 5 or 10 minutes. Add red wine and once that's completely incorporated, add sour cream and stir until it's all mixed together. Then add the beef back in, asuming there's any left, and let it simmer until the beef heats through. We like it over rice rather than the usual egg noodles and there are no mushrooms in this recipe I served it with a Vienna baquette that my son and I picked up this afternoon when we took a walk in the snow over to the bakery. Now this is pure comfort food for a snowy, cold winter day.

No it wasn't, and as Steven says it will become more intuative, the more I do it. I have two more questions. I'm going to make a chicken stock next (although I won't need to bore everyone with the details . Now, I don't use chicken stock nearly as much as I do beef, so I'll make less of this. I have 3 or 4 pounds of chicken thighs, legs and wings in the freezer. Is that all I need or are the other parts of the chicken I should have? And finally, I'd like to do a pork stock. Pork stock I could see myself using quite often. What should I be using for that kind of stock?

Whew, I'm finally done! This is what it looked like after I took it out of the fridge and skimmed the fat. I brought it back to liquid and strained it once more. here it is at it's final reduction And I ended up getting 3 full trays of cubes These trays are from Tupperware, and they are great because they have lids. They stack, and nothing sloshes around over the edge. I've put them on the back porch to cool and then they'll go into the freezer. A couple of notes. I didn't take exact measurements nor note closely enough how many lbs of bones I started with. Not being of a mathmatical mind anyway, I had some problems doing the right calculations, so I guessed. Tasting was very important. When I started the reduction it was very thin and bland, kind of like a diluted broth. By the time I was done, it had become much denser and richer in flavour as well as darker in colour. All in all, I think I'm pretty pleased with how this came out. The other thing I should add is that although this really is a time consuming process, as Fat Guy says, it's pretty passive time. It's also not very much of a drain on your brain, and in fact I found it to be very therapudic in many ways. Nothing like mindless work to soothe an overworked mind. Thanks everyone for your help!

I took it back to liquid because I wanted to strain it again. Actually as an experiment, I strained one pot and not the other. They are both now coming to a slow boil on the cooktop

I've taken two of the three pots out and taken the fat off the top. It's very gelatinous underneath. I'm thinking it's because I had it in the fridge for so long? What I'm going to do, is start by warming the stock up to pure liquid form, then I'm going to strain it again, reserve the amount I want and then start reducing. Does this make sense?

It's a perfect day to finish this project. We've snow and freezing rain, so I won't be going anywhere for a while. Dave, your post was most helpful. Having never done this before, using a ruler is not a bad idea actually. I actually started with closer to 11.5 lbs of bones, and I'm pretty sure I've got at least 8 quarts of stock. Possibly 10. I'll check. I'm going to reserve three cups of this for immediate use. 2 will go into a French Onion soup and 1 into a beef stroganoff for tonight's dinner. So one final question. When reducing, bring to a boil? just a simmer? Stir, don't stir? Once the coffee kicks in, I'm ready to go.

yes it did. He had some serious illnesses as a child. Because we had to keep giving him this stuff he was able to maintain a weight gain. It's been a long time but it might have tasted like licorice, but don't quote me on that. but it's clear.

I have three bundt cake pans, and two mini bundt pans. I should make something.

Electrolytes. Remember them? As a baby, when Ryan was sick non stop, we would get him to drink the stuff. It's in the baby section. Yeah, some of it wouldn't stay down, but enough would to make sure he was getting some nutrients and was keeping hydrated.

thanks teach. I'm going to do them in the three pots that the stock is in currently. Tomorrow's likely a snow day. I'm gonna have all day.

I wan't counting reasons, but I'll go back and do that shortly. In the meantime, wow. So many vibrant colours! I love that chicken in the first pic, could you tell us more about it? It looks so amazing. Your cousin is indeed gorgeous, but I'm afraid I had to wince at the nose ring. It just looks kinda painful, but she is beautiful in that picture! Somehow when I think of India, I just don't visualize McDonalds. Wonderful Monica, just wonderful. I think I've got 17 reasons so far.

ok, so maybe a straight reduction is what I want. Where's our instructors when we need them? Approximately how long does it take to reduce? I'd hate to start this at 10 pm and still be up at 3 or something like that?

I think I mean demi glace. so I can put the stuff into ice cube trays and freeze it. Then I can reconstitute one cube into a cup of stock if I need it.

demi-glace? Someone? Anyone at all This is tomorrow's snow day project.

Started a lovely loaf of Cinnamon bread in my breadmaker to make the house smell nice because it was being shown this morning. Make myself scarce while strangers are in home, come back, the house smells wonderful. Timer goes off on breadmaker. I was busy so 15 minutes later I went to get the bread out. Open door, reach in, take hot pan out. Drop the pan on the floor when hot pan comes in contact with my previously burned fingers from two days ago. What is it with me and hot things this week? Somebody stop me. I'm becoming a danger to myself!

Aha. 5 year old Balderson. And occasionally 7 year old Balderson when you can get it. Only in Canada though. pity. Balderson cheese

They are calling for a snowstorm here later tomorrow and Thursday. It's a good time to make chili. or soup or stew!