Owtahear

As do my dreams.

Man, I love making chicharrons, but they are a pain. I get the fresh pork skin, shave off any leftover strands, boil it in some salted water. Then cut them into strips and Let them dry over night in the fridge. Then dry them in a 200 deg F over for 8-12 hours until they are like fiberglass. Break them into small pieces. Then the absolute magic happens. Fry them up and PUFF.....magic. My choice to season them is I grate lime zest, some hatch chile powder and salt and mix that together and toss them with the just fried chicharrons. YUM!

Hey all, I am sure some of you have made your own starter from scratch. I don't know if I am over thinking it. But I have been at it for a month. I have used some discard already and made some really awesome pizza. I am now obsessed with home made pizza with home made dough and sauce. But my starter, does it really have to "float"? I feed it daily, sometimes twice a day, it is obviously in a warm environment as it is in a sunroom and it has been sunny and 90's here (room temp probably ~76 degrees F) it smells good, I can see bubbles and air accumulate in the starter in the jar. But it doesn't "float" when I put it in water. I am using mostly organic, local whole wheat flour with occasional organic AP flour along with bottled, distilled water. So.......thoughts???

Plus....let's face it.....Gazpacho is about one of the most healthy things you can possibly eat!

And I can't wait. Hopefully a month from now.......I will raid my garden to make this.

All I know....is I have a garden...a big garden. I have many different tomatoes, San Marzano, Plum, Beefsteak, Brandywine, Better Boy, Black Krim and some heirlooms, plus 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes. I got bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, cayenne, tabasco, serrano, 3 different types of onions, every herb you can imagine and cucumbers. And I got a great Spanish Sherry Vinegar. Gazpacho will definitely be on the menu come late July as these veggies ripen!!!!

All I know because of the pandemic, and now working from home and all of the craziness, I put in a major big garden for just two of us. I have so many varieties of tomatoes. I have jalapeno, serrano, Anaheim, cayenne, tabasco, banana and bell peppers. I have 3 kinds of onions. I have cilantro. So I cannot wait to make salsa from the above (and home made hot sauce). I also got cucumbers, zucchini so definitely some gazpacho will be made this year. Also cabbage, Brussel sprouts, eggplant, spaghetti squash, oregano, basil, parsley, dill, thyme, sage, chives. Radishes. Carrots. Mesclun lettuce, Arugala, and Romaine lettuce (which is looking awesome and ready to pick) Also, Peas, Snow Peas and Green beans. I am not going to have to buy veggies and will be able to can and freeze. The only thing I will really need to get is sweet corn.

I make a very close variation of this salsa and love it with grilled salmon.

I like to use a flat, Lodge cast iron griddle on my gas grill. I can get it screaming hot. This is a 50 day, dry aged, prime grade rib eye from Pat LaFrieda's meats. Presalted and left on a rack from early morning until evening (about 12 hours). Made sure surface was dry before putting it into the skillet. Well seasoned pan, very hot (>550 deg F) and got a nice crust.

I have done twice fried obviously. The fry then refridge or freeze and fry again method. I have done the Reblochon method. They are fine. But one thing I hate, hate, HATE, is fries that are treated with some cornstarch or flour to make them crisp. To me, crisp or not, but it ruins the fry/frites taste!!!

I just started my first sourdough "starter" this weekend. I got some local whole wheat flour to start, and now am feeding it half wheat and half AP and will ween it off to all AP in a day or two.

I have been eating Ham Sammiches for 4 days now. But last Friday I got a shipment of Scallops and Oysters from Harbor Fish Market in Portland, Me. The Oysters were Johns River and were absolutely incredible. Off the charts fresh and juicy. Do much "juice" I was able to make my favorite martini, the "Dirty Dirty Martini" which is a splash of tabasco, oyster liquor, vermouth and used a local Gin (Wigle). Then followed up the oysters with U10 scallops, tossed in a lemon crème sauce with linguine.

Nice! I don't have a photo but I made a charcouterie plate of various salumis I picked up from Salty Pork Bits, Chunks of Parma and Aged Gouda, Pickled Radishes (homemade) , Marcona Almonds, Crusty local bread and olive oil dip for the bread with rosemary, sea salt and cracked back pepper. No pics however. I always forget.

That's interesting. I have a lot of salmon in my pantry and never tried them mixed with potatoes but looks interesting.

Yeah had a Homer Simpson "doh" moment by forgetting to shoot a shot when I sliced into it. It was great, well rested, so that helped. And in fact, I think I am going to sous vide the leftover today and slice into small slices and dip into a lite soy sauce and wasabi bath.

OK So we are stuck at home, time to make the best of it. I am all for supporting the local places, and think it is our moral imperative to do so/ But it is tough to duplicate, and what a great time to do some home cooking. I can't go to a big time steakhouse. So I got a couple of 1 1/2" thick, Prime, 50 Day dry aged steaks from Pat Lafrieda's meats delivered to me. Boom. Instant big time steakhouse at my house. I didn't sous vide them, guys you can cook great steaks without sous vide or reverse sear, you people way overthink it sometimes. Best way to do it, or simplest, and it is the BEST way to cook great burgers. I got a Lodge cast iron flat skillet. I heat it to screaming hot on a simple gas grill. You get all you want with the Maillard reaction, crust, without the flair up. My pan is really well seasoned (seen a lot of steaks and burgers). Boom. 50 day aged prime steak from Pat Lafrieda's. Side baked potato loaded with sour cream and chives, sliced tomatoes, a little mezze of pickled radishes (I love these almost as much as the steak) garlic toast and of course it is Asparagus time. Joe Phelps Insignia. I don't know if I have an Armageddon type of feel. Steaks, just salted ahead of time, topped with garlic butter and thyme and rosemary. The meat was just so incredibly flavorful and rich that of the 22 Oz steak, I think I could only eat like 5-6 Oz, Decadent

I like a mix of 60% Black Vinegar and 40% Soy sauce as a dipping sauce

Was the filling pork?? I definitely want to try doing this.

Fairly easy as everyone said, braise them. Braise them low and slow. Serve them with creamy mashed potatoes or polenta and enjoy.

Wow....like the old lawyer joke..........whatever you make "that's a good start!"

My girl Avery is dreaming of those oxtails.

I've learned, great beef....that's all you need. Salt and Pepper. Nothing more.

One more. An attempt at Salmon ala Troisgrois. OK......I learned a lesson. The Sorrel Sauce was fantastic. But I overcooked the salmon. Even though it was in a pan for less than a few moments, you really have to go quickly and plate.

This is called....I got a C in Art Class..............or I need a better camera. Anyone, really great Tuna in a salad that almost replicates Nicoise but not quite and intentionally not wanting to.