kayb

@ChocoMom -- I have had success canning chili before when i didn't have room for all the ground venison. SEVEN deer? Unless y'all have REAL small deer, that's a BUNCH of venison! I'd have to be making some summer sausage, too.

I pickled mustard seeds yesterday in preparation for a riff on pickled peanut salad. A riff, because I don't like either bell pepper or celery. I'm thinking julienned carrots and maybe zucchini or cucumber, drained, instead.

I love 19 Crimes. Did you check the cork to see what your crime was? You are making me want spaghetti and meatballs. Next week, maybe.

Yum.

I have mentioned I bought a small Masterbilt electric smoker. Its maiden voyage was steelhead trout filets, with which I was underwhelmed; they were just too...fishy. But last night, I took the plunge with a sirloin tip roast. Coated it in Santa Maria rub on Thursday night, wrapped in plastic and stashed it in the fridge. Put it on to smoke about 4 pm. Other than the fact dinner was an hour later than I'd planned, it was excellent. Took significantly longer to get to 130 than I had planned. But it sliced up nice and tender, and I didn't get it too done, and I think it will make fine sandwiches next week. The potatoes were Yukon Gold fingerlings, tossed in olive oil, seasoned salt and black pepper and steam-baked in the CSO for 30 minutes, then fninished for 10 minutes on convection at 450. Perfect. The Brussels sprouts were a riff on several recipes. I cooked 3/4 cup farro, toasting it a skillet and then boiling until tender. I drained it and spread it out on a dinner plate to cool. I sliced the Brussels sprouts thin, then tossed them in a hot skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper; sauteed until they were nicely caramelized, added the farro and some sliced almonds in, and finished off with balsamic vinegar and honey. Got a bit too much honey; I'll hold it to 1 tbsp next time. But these were quite excellent. Sliced tomatoes finished off the plate. Dessert was a slice of chess pie, which was remarkably good considering after I cut it, I found the half-cup of melted butter I'd forgotten to put in it. I slept well.

Well, they're both awfully pretty.

Grabbed a couple of frozen egg bites; let them thaw a bit on the counter, then stuck them in the CSO on steam bake 350 for 8 minutes. Still cold in the center, so I cut them in two and gave them another three minutes. Then toasted a slice of oatmeal bulghur bread and topped it with some blackberry jam. The bites were good post-freezing/thawing/warming, but a better procedure might have been to lay them out in the fridge the night before, to cut the time needed to thaw/warm. They weren't rubbery, though. Also, one egg bite's enough, when I'm having it with toast. Lucy-the-pug, however, was really pleased I had warmed two. Next time I'll dice the brats, instead of just slicing them.

Thanks for the bierocks dough recipe. I'm smoking a sirloin tip roast today, and may make some sort of made-up-and-baked sandwiches from that next week.

I love that cheese board. Slab. Whatever. Is it slate? What kind of dough do you use for the bierocks? Looks somewhat like pizza crust dough. Is it? Reminds me of calzones, which I used to make more often when my foster son lived with me because he could LIVE on calzones. I make something similar with rye bread dough, sliced pastrami, sliced Swiss, and well-drained kraut. Make it in a big loaf with a woven top, and slice it in hunks. Great for a football party. Like this:

I have one exactly like this, but for the addition of a small ceramic dish in the bottom ring. A spoon/ladle holder. It sits on my stove, and gets a fair amount of use.

Used one I got off the instant pot page on Facebook, here. Left out the coconut cream because I didn't have any.

My grandmother would wade out into the flock and select the one she wanted to cook for dinner. She'd grab it by the neck and with a quick swing and flip of her wrist, snap the head right off. I always marveled at how she could do that. We didn't have chickens long. Daddy hated them, and we soon got rid of them and got ours from the lady down the road. She, in turn, got pork from us. It all worked out.

My nickel's worth: Beans, unless you're putting your chili over tamales, in which case, no beans. I am not certain why. It's just that way. I've made it with both chuck and ground beef, and like @Shelby, prefer it with venison. If I'm pulling meat out of the freezer specifically to make it, I'll generally use ground beef, to use up what usually winds up surplus in my annual beef share. I do use tomatoes, and a variety of chiles/chili powder. I do use RoTel, when I have it on hand, or I'll dump in a can of diced green chiles with my tomatoes. I do use beer. I do use chocolate (generic cocoa powder), and lots of cumin, and generally some allspice. i may serve it any number of ways; with rice, inside a baked potato, in a bread bowl, with a wedge of cornbread, with a grilled cheese sandwich, or just with a stack of saltines. And significantly more beer. It is one of those meals, like grilled burgers, that call for accompaniment by beer. Negra Modelo is my favorite with chili. I also love it over cheese enchiladas. I'm making myself hungry.

I, too, forgot to take pics, but dinner was beef curry, from Instant Pot Indian (or something to that effect) by Urvashi Pitre. I used tenderized round steak, cut in small chunks, vs. the called-for chuck roast, because I had it. Good. Like most of her recipes, I used probably 30 percent more of all spices except the red pepper, and used maybe half of that. Word of caution: If you like the sweet tinge that take-out Indian so often has, add a tablespoon of honey to her sauces. And most of her recipes create a surplus of sauce, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Cooked it PIP in the stackable tiffin tins in the IP. 20 minutes, 20 minute NPR.

Re: Olivier salad. Perhaps I'm sheltered, but I'd never heard of it. Sounds good (and potential variations are buzzing in my brain as I type). I have learned a New Thing. Today is therefore a worthwhile day. Thanks, @Tropicalsenior. And I'm glad the egg pucks (LOVE the term!) worked for you. I highly recommend 'em with proscuitto on that English muffin (I keep accumulating 4-oz packages of proscuitto from Aldi and freezing them; cheap and good!). Today I used my IP to: boil six eggs for deviled eggs I have not yet made make rice pudding and make beef curry with rice for dinner. None were things I could not have done otherwise, but the convenience and time savings were well worthwhile. I don't know that I can think of anything I can do in it that I couldn't do otherwise, and for some things that many people use the IP, I still prefer the old-fashioned method, like carbonnades a la flamande or bouef Bourguignon, but it's a worthwhile device in my kitchen and I'm sold on it. Particularly with the little pot-in-pot stackable tiffin-style pans.

They now make candy corn flavored Hostess cupcakes. I'm going to have to try them. I, too, have used the Buddig beef for SOS. Which, interestingly enough, I really like over a hot smashed potato (the potatoes you either bake or boil, then mash flat with a potato masher, brush with butter, and broil). Which, I reckon, would make it SOP. Damn, I hate it when that happens.

Inquiring minds want to see fried pumpkini....

Helluva deal. I'm tempted to get one and just put it up, against the day mine dies.

Oops. My apologies, Chris. Very good as toast the next morning. This may go in the regular rotation. I think I got my dough a bit too dry; I was on the phone as I was measuring flour, and may have overdone it. Suspect I shall try a sandwich later today.

Other than being a different color, it appears to be the same. There are also a couple in the "also looked at" collection at the bottom of the Amazon page that look similar. There was not quite an inch clearance in my Duo 6 for these, if that's helpful.

Oddly, the item no longer appears in Amazon that I can find. I bought them only a month or two ago. They are Rednolia Baby Food Freezer Trays. And yes, two fit perfectly atop the trivet. I am told silicone cupcake liners work well, too.

Started in tonight on Six Seasons. The butters and condiments alone are worth the price. Artichoke mayonnaise? Yes, please.

Made @Anna N's oatmeal bulgur bread today. Very good warm from oven. Think it will be excellent as toast or in sandwiches.

My Irish genes must be strong ones. I have yet to see a potato dish after which I do not lust. This one is no exception. I can close my eyes and hear my grandmother directing me to go to the basement and bring her up six "arsh" potatoes. Not until much later did I realize she was saying "Irish." I'm making that potato pancake tomorrow. Possibly latkes as well. I may have a baked potato for dinner.

I have taken the egg bite plunge. I was planning on doing them in the SV, had the jars and everything, and then ran across these cute little thingys on Amazon that I thought would be useful for a multitude of purposes. The first thing I did was freeze beef stock in them, then pop the little cubes out and stash them all in a big freezer bag. Today, I used the cups again to make egg bites in the IP. Six eggs, a healthy glug of cream (maybe 1/4 cup?), 2 oz crumbled goat cheese, 1.5 oz grated aged farmhouse cheddar, salt, pepper and chives, all whizzed up in the blender. Cut up some leftover brats, put in the cups; topped with egg mix. Six minutes high pressure, let it release 20 minutes or so, until I thought about it again. The leftover egg went into a pair of ramekins in the CSO at 350 for 15 minutes (and serendipitiously, are just about exactly the diameter of an English muffin). These were pretty doggoned good. I plan to freeze them and have them for quick breakfasts. In the pot: Cooked: Ready to wrap and freeze: