snowangel

Baby, it's cold outside, and it has been snowing a lot. After an unbelievably warm fall (we had BLT's and burgers on the grill far later than is typical), we have winter. A cover of snow that looks like it could stay until the blissful days of spring. So, I've been braising, and making soup. Here in North America, it is cold and snowy. I've got massaman curry barely burbling on the stove. What's cooking now that it's COLD. Oh, and I miss fresh homegrown tomatoes.

Given that we have a chest freezer (not the biggest model on the block, but not a small one) that is filled with venison, that's what we're eating. Ragu with venison. Definite hit. The beef stew recipe from Cradle of Flavour. Another hit. Currently on the stove is a massaman curry with venison. But, as to the cuts. Wow, do I love the neck meat. Perhaps next year, I can get my FIL to swap out the necks for tenderloins. That neck meat just melts in one's mouth with not that much of a low and slow simmer. The shoulder stew meat in the massaman is much slower to let the tough stuff go. I've promised my family one night per meal that doesn't feature venison. Oh, my, I have a lot of venison in the freezer, and I'm loving it!

I had guests last night for dinner -- and they don't do hot spicy, so I also made the Malaccan Beef and Vegetable Stew. Made myself happy with sambal on the side. I used venison for this dish -- a very worthy choice and a great variation on a traditional stew. I'm wondering if my vension is well enough marbeled for rendang.

One of the things that helps me is to get out all of the necessary serving dishes the day before and put little scraps of paper in them identifying what should go into the dishes. Now, this is only as good as remembering to set all of the dishes out in advance.

Ditto, here, too. There's been extensive discussion about this on the Cooking with "All about Braising" by Molly Stevens topic. I just looked this recipe over, and I'd likely make this in my Le Creuset dutch oven, and once the liquid has been added and comes to a simmer, stick it in a 275 degree oven.

Have you looked to see if they have the larger plastic tubs of Masaman? 14 oz., and my market tends to have the Mae Ploy brand of the tubs, but can's of Maesri. Also, I've noticed with my Asian market, which is exceptionally well-stocked, that sometimes they are out of a type of paste for a couple of weeks, which leads me to believe that they don't order unless they've got a big order. Keep looking, and it's worth requesting it.

We are in the dark days of December. Unlike when it light until 9:00 pm, I find myself starting dinner preps earlier and earlier, and tapping my toes earlier and earlier. In the first days of September and those wonderful April and May days, the kids are happy to get up early and have a good breakfast. Now that it's dark in the morning, I pack them off to the school bus with a couple of oatmeal cookies. We seem to like eating when it's light outside. How do your meal habits change when the dark comes earlier and stays later?

When I was up north this past Thanksgiving Day weekend for my annual long weekend with my college buddies (the 11th annual!), we walked across the highway and took a basket weaving class at the wonderful knitting/basket shop across the highway. For $20.00, we got instruction in making a basket, and supplies to make 10 more of the baskets. We opted to make garlic baskets. This one will hang on my kitchen wall when I decide just where to put it, but it could also hang on a magnetic hook on the fridge. Anyone want to guess what the women in my life are getting for Christmas? Stay tuned for felted oven mitts.

On the way home from Blue Fin Bay after my women's weekend (think four college buddies, a ton of cooking and wine and hot tubbing outdoors on the North Shore), Susan and I made our annual pilgrimage to Russ Kendalls. What a change! That bar area on the right of the smoked fish sales area is no longer more junk than you find at a flea market. It is spotless. I'm not sure what they did with the flea market crap, but the surfaces are spotless, the floor has been waxed and the place has been painted. Mind you, on one of the tables there were a ton of boxes -- ready for the Xmas mail-order season, but the place looks great. Russ's grandson was manning the smoked meat counter and till, and looked like a natural in the place. Oh, and the sugar smoked salmon is still to die for.

I'm just back from a weekend up north with three close friends, and the menu (we don't eat out, but cook) is heavy on the munchies, and three from this book. Vodka-spiked cherry tomatoes with pepper-salt: worth every bit of peeling the cherry tomatoes. (helped that the kitchen is open and allowed me to be part of the group while I did the deed). We used Shakers vodka (rye version), which is a local vodka, and darned good. One of the great things about this is that you can prep everything, and just do a few tomatoes at a time, ensuring a supply all weekend long. Smoked salmon rolls with arugula, mascarpone, chives and capers: Spectacular. While I might quibble that there is more filling than necessary, this is a show-stopper, both visusally and taste wise. Makes a nice brunch with a good salad. Any leftover mascarpone filling is a good addition to mashed potatoes. Sweet and spicy pecans. I made these, using ancho chili powder. This is the one dish from this book from this weekend upon which we straddled the fence. I also brought along a batch of JAZ's Spicy Sweet Walnuts. Two of us (me in the group) preferred Janet's walnuts, the other two the pecans. But, none of us refused to eat the pecans! As we say in hockey country, a hat trick.

Nope, I did totally apple, because that what what the Teen split. (old photo, but the scene was the same) The turkey is off the Trusty Old Weber, and resting. The bits that "fell off" are Oh, Me, Oh My. It's been way too long since I smoked meat. I do know which of the two turkeys tomorrow (my smoked, my SIL's traditional roasted) will be more popular. I've already been asked about leftovers. For those who have never smoked a turkey, it will look scary when it is done, and you will think that your SI has committe a crime. But s/he hasn't. Oh, and hubby has informed me that my scent is irresistible.

Snow on the kettle really moderates the temp!

My turkey is on, and smoking nicely at between 215 and 225. I forgot to remove the wing tips for the Bone Bag, but did remember to snip all of the tendons at the bottom of the leg.

For dinner last night, the pork with mango, lime and coconut milk, except I used chicken thighs which I browned, but did pull of the skin. We all agreed that this dish was extremely successful with chicken, and one of the kids and Paul liked it better with chicken. Hint: should you see a really ripe (as in reduced for quick sale) mango at the market, get it. I got one about a month ago, and just cut it up and froze it, which pretty much made this a pantry meal! Leftovers make an outstanding breakfast!

This is undoubtedly one of my favorite lists of the year (no, make that my favorite!): Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving Day), I head north to a resort on the North Shore of Lake Superior with three college buddies. We women have known each other since the mid 70's, and this is our 11th annual. The condo we'll stay in has a full kitchen, fairly well appointed, but we always bring a mess of equipment with us, hence the food processor, rice cooker, sheet pan, parchment and rack. The list is the result of a few weeks of consultation, and the other women's lists are just as long! Some of the things (those with an H in front) are supplies for the house to keep Paul, Diana, Heidi and Peter happy while I'm gone), but the rest is all for us. The stuff that is crossed out without an H in front has already been packed. We have planned way more food and movies than we can possibly consume, but this weekend is all about choices -- and no husbands, no kids, no pets. Oh, not on the list is the case and a half of wine we'll take! If I lose this list, I'm in trouble.

Any idea how long I can figure the almost 20 pound bird will take at about 225?

The deer that arrived on my doorstep this morning was a 170 pound buck. My FIL swore that he saw it last year, as well. But, it was delivered skinned and in quarters, and let me tell you, it sure is easier to make nice white packages of meat when the deer is hanging on a rafter in the garage. The haunches are currently on the deck, in a Rubbermaid Action Packer, as I'm fighting weather. It's been warm, so the garage is not as cold as I wish it was. Onto the haunches tomorrow and finish the deed! I just hope my family wants to eat nothing but venison for the next year!

Nina and I have talked, and you'll see this blog continue in the very near future!

Thanks, John, for the link (which I bookmarked). My FIL gave me one deer. Apparently, sometime on Tuesday, I can expect another deer and a half which have been skinned an quartered on my doorstep. Armed with a copy of "How to Make the Most of your Deer" by Dennis Walrod and a mess of sharp knives and a food-saver, I'm ready to do some wiser butchering that I did two years ago. Oh, but first, best clean out, defrost and organize the chest freezer. So, in the meantime, more suggestions are welcome. Strikes me you won't be seeing much in my kitchen that isn't related to venison.

Would the Shrimp Curry with Pineapple and Tomatoes work with Chicken instead of Shrimp? (I'm prohibited from buying meat because of the deer in the freezer which is about to be augmented with another deer and a half). Any ideas on what in this book would work well with venison?

Candy bars seem to come in a few sizes. Some, like Reese's PB cups in two sizes -- the regular and the small. Some, like Snicker's and Milky Way's in three sizes -- regular, those little two or three-bite rectangular ones, and the mini's -- which are about 1" square. This weekend, Diana had some friends over, and one brought a handful of candy bars. We debated what size is best, and concluded it depended on the size of the bar. We all concurred that a salted nut roll is better in the "mini" size. More salt and nut ratio to the nougat. We all agreed that the bigger Reese's PB cups are better. I personally really love those little tiny square Milky Way Midnights -- the ratio of dark choc to the filling is wonderful. But, I had a hankering for one the other day and bought the full-size bar. Ick. The conclusion was that some are much better small, and with some it doesn't matter. What are your fav sizes for your fav bars?

I will second what Steven has said. My folks have a Miele. We have a KA (our second; more on that in a sec). Mine is faster, and since it's on an exterior wall, while noisier, isn't a problem. My folks Miele is also much slower. But, if I could do one thing differently, I would have replaced my old Hobart KA with a new one and stored the Hobart before we put the old house on the market. That thing was a champ at cleaning, and drop dead easy to repair. In 20 years, only one problem -- the timer -- which is still readily available, and I was able to replace it by myself in about 20 minutes. I should mention that although we had the dishwasher for 20 years, my folks had it for 10 years before that. It started it's life out as a "portable"; it was full-sized, but not built in and we actually installed it as a built in. I heard from the owner of our former house, and that thing is now nigh on 35+ years, and still going strong, and cleaning as well as it did back then. Our newer KA does a fab job, but I fear that when we need to repair it, it won't be nearly as easy. Oh, and no pre-rinse needed. I just use a rubber scraper to get the big ick off the plates.

We did this tonight, and after the first one, total success. I have lots of trouble getting the dough thin enough, and with 4 folks here who eat pizza, Diana and I think that we will next time roll dough rectangles through the pasta roller (any reason not to?) and do them on the cast iron griddle. Paul and Peter didn't like their first bites, but they are used to a squishier crust and more toppings than a pizza needs, but by the third bite, they were converts. Yes to rolling the dough really thin. Which is a problem for me -- to get it evenly thin. We found it most successful when the dough is thin enough so that the top side almost browns before one flips it. Diana and I also think that the tomatoes should be warmed, and that one should take the moz out of the fridge LONG before one does the pizza. Peter and Paul really wanted pepperoni on the pizza, and I realized that this was just not going to work without broiling, so we nuked the pepperoni in a paper towel for about 1/2 minute, and voila! So, just how do I get the crust to be uniformly thin enough? Will the pasta roller gizmo work? Oh, and Diana and I also thought this would be a great idea for an appetizer party. Roll out little doughs into three bite pizzas!

I'm smoking a turkey on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Wood suggestions? I have apple (tons), maple and cherry. No hickory. What would you use? Anyone else smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving?

Our next blog starts tomorrow (and I'm working with Nina to find a date so she can finish her blog!), but some hints: Hmmm. I'm not seeing many carbs. Any guesses as to where we're going? And who we're going with?