eG Foodblog: Pierogi (2011) - Rollin' the bon temps on the Left Co

[Pierogi]

Is this the same area where the Queen Mary is docked as a hotel? I remember back early 1970s when hubby and I were treking around California in our Westphalia camper, we actually camped in the parking lot close to a restaurant where we had supper.

Sure doesn't look the same now! We did tour the ship the next morning.

Now, THAT'S what I'd call a farmer's market. Did you buy anything?

Thos strawberries look delicious. I wonder if our "California" strawberries come from the same farm?

Long Beach is, indeed, where the QM is docked...our little, and I do mean little...claim to fame. Well, OK, one of them. We do have a world-class Gran Prix, and one of the largest harbors in the world.

But, this market isn't on the coast. It's way inland, as am I. About 10 miles from the coast. The other Sunday market is down the coast about 5 miles south of where the QM is docked, in an area called Alamitos Bay. Although you're right, there's a marina right by the Queen.

Yes, I bought some tabouleh and some Kalamata olive spread from the extremely charming and flirtatious Greek food vendor. Actually, the products are very good (albiet a bit pricey....). The charm certainly didn't hurt the sale, though !

There's still acres of strawberry farms all over SoCal, so maybe. We've lost so much agricultural land in the last 50 years (the parking lots at Disneyland used to be pretty much all a privately owned citrus and strawberry farm) due to sprawl, there's some really creative uses to keep the agriculture going. A lot of urban farmers grow food and ornamental crops under high voltage electrical transmission towers and wires. Or on railway right-of-ways. It's really trippy...you go cruising along down the freeway, and there's a plot of cultivated land.

Of course you notice that because you're *cruising down the freeway* at about 10 miles an hour...

[Pierogi]

I can wait! I've been pretty happy using farmfreshtoyou.com as it offers more flexibility than traditional CSAs which is important since my wife is often away for a month or so at a time and I can scale back the deliveries to every other week or whatever other frequency suits.

The Farmers markets here in Long Beach are certainly a nice benefit to have. I work downtown so the Friday market is one I go to most often.

Are you going to explore some of the Cambodian markets on Anaheim this week?

Intresting factoid- Long Beach has a huge Cambodian community, sorta like Little Saigon is to the Vietnamese enclave which is just South of here.

Farm Fresh was one of the ones I looked at, but they were a little out of my budget. If I remember, since I was still working, their pick-up or delivery times were also a bit inconvenient at the time. I think you'll like my hidden gem.

I am planning on going to one of the local ethnic markets one day. Haven't decided which yet, again, we're so lucky we have such an option. And yes, I did know that about Cambodian community. If I'm not mistaken, most of Anaheim Street is known as "Little Phenom Penh".

[Pierogi]

Wish I could "read" your refrigerator. Bet there are some good stories stuck on it.

Other than an attack of homesickness, I'm so enjoying your blog. I grew up in the Mar Vista-

Venice area. My folks both worked at McDonald Douglas in Long Beach.

Hubby and I were back there on a trip and stayed on the Queen Mary. What fun. And your aquarium is world class!

There are indeed good memories and stories in those fridge magnets. Many of them (of course) involve food and food stuffs !

I used to work up close to Mar Vista. Nice area. You do know that literally all of the old McDonald Douglas buildings are gone now? It's sooooooooo sad.

Yes, the aquarium is a gem ! I'm very proud of that (unlike the old, sad tug boat of an ocean liner parked next to it.....)

[Pierogi]

ahhh umm my fridge.....

Reasons like this and my 14 hour average working day make me love these foodblogs even more!!! Cant wait to see what you get up to this week

Well, one could say that you have the absolute essentials ! Good taste in gin.....

[Pierogi]

May I suggest a martini?

Close. Although that did cross my mind, it's so often in my rotation that I veered away from it. We did stay with gin though....

A Last Word (1 part gin, 1 part green Chartreuse, 1 part maraschino liqueur and 1 part lime juice)...

I thought it was appropriate because I so very rarely get "the last word".....

[Pierogi]

Love the bungee cord idea - the holder in my basement fridge keeps popping out sending all of our mixers onto the floor. Amazed out how organized your fridge shelves are.

Hey, like I said, it looks ghetto, but it's a) cheap and b) it works !

Organized.....oy. It feels like I'm constantly removing half the shelf to find what I'm looking for. My whole problem is I'm a condiment slut, I can't resist 'em. Or I'll find a really, REALLY cool recipe I just HAVE TO MAKE and it will need the one sauce/paste/rub/mix I *don't* already have in the fridge.

[Pierogi]

ahhh umm my fridge.....

And I do have to admit, I stocked up for the blog. I did a HUGE shopping trip on Wednesday last week to prepare....

It's not usually THAT packed. Close, but not quite.

The freezer is, however, admittedly out of control. And I even have an inventory list....

[Pierogi]

Loving the blog! (Just got caught up on the first two days, after spending a week out of town with the brand new grandchild!)

Inquiring minds want to know -- was that a sugar bowl in the hummus ingredients pic? Don't know that I ever heard of sugar in hummus; share a recipe?

As a Kitchenaid noob, I'm looking forward particularly to the breadbaking part of your week. I missed my breadbaking the past two weeks, and will be anxious to get back into it this next weekend.

New Orleans cuisine rules. Will be ordering Cooking Up A Storm.

And the furbabies are adorable! Lucy Lu says to tell them Hi from her.

Thanks Kay and congrats on the new babe !!! Good on ya !

No, in the hummus shot, the Polish stoneware bowl is my salt cellar. No sugar involved. Recipe is dead-bang simple. A can of garbanzos, drain, but reserve the juice, about 1/4C tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt to taste. Start with about a tablespoon of the garbanzo juice. Blitz that around in the processor for a bit, then drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Blitz again, taste and adjust. A bit of smoked paprika (I use the pimenton, which is hot), blitz briefly and that's a done deal. It's really all to taste. I usually use a couple of garlic cloves, and the juice of an entire, small lemon and about a teaspoon of salt.

I'll try to detail the use of the sexy KA when I post the remainder of today's bread thread in a bit. I also used it yesterday for the kneading on the King Cake. With my hands as bad as they are somedays, the sexy KA is the only way I can make yeasted doughs for sure. Plus, its really almost fool-proof once you've done it a few times. That technique I used from "Cuisine at Home" (I looked, its the February 2009 issue) is really a good one, especially for noobs. If you can't find it on-line, or in a library, PM me and I'll shoot it over to you.

A BIG warning though...DO NOT leave it unattended whilst its kneading. Mine literally walked off the counter and crashed on the floor the first time I used it for bread. Luckily I was standing right there, so I could rescue it. It wrecked the outlet it was plugged into when it yanked out of the socket, but when I picked the beauty back up, and plugged it back it, it went on like a champ ! It did chip the lock for the tilt-head, but a little Super Glue fixed that right up ! Now I put a square of that squishy-grippy shelf liner under the foot while it works, and I make sure to stand there and hold it.

I am SO glad and gratified that so many people reading this blog have responded to "Cooking Up A Storm". It is such a worthwhile book, for such a fabulous culture, the more people that get the word, and spread it the happier I am. I can't imagine a US without the people of Southern Louisiana.

Thanks LucyLu !

[Pierogi]

Holy cats ! It's late and I'm exhausted (and sore.....) and maybe tomorrow I'll start dinner around noon. I didn't realize how much time it took to photograph what I was doing in the little kitchen.

OK, so there was more than just nasty stuff for breakfast and lunch today. Before I left for the Farmers' Market, I had another slice of King Cake. Here's a picture of what it looks like on the inside:

I LOVED it ! I did think I slightly overbaked it, as I keep saying, I'm not an intuitive enough baker yet (although I'm getting there...) to trust my instincts fully. About 10 minutes before the timer said it was done, my nose told me it was getting close. But since it was the first time I'd made it, I let it go. I probably should've pulled it about 5 minutes before the timer went. But, ya live and learn. The brown sugar/cinnamon filling got nice and melty and caramelized on the outside, and the dough part is nice and eggy and yeasty. It's a good thing.

Lunch was the hummus I made yesterday, with tabouleh and Kalamata olive spread I bought from the very flirtatious Greek vendor at the Farmers' Market. He gave me a sample of his hummus mixed with the tabouleh and it was fantastic. What a good idea. His hummus had jalapeno in it. *Mental note* next time I make hummus, grind a jalapeno in with the garbanzos. I like my hummus, oddly enough, with pretzels. Don't know how authentic that is, but it's how I like it. Sometimes I get those thin pretzel crackers, but this time I had rods...

[Pierogi]

And the bread.

What an absolute FREAKIN' success ! Must've been Blog Karma, because it was seriously the best loaf of bread I have EVER made ! Nice, chewy, crisp crust. GREAT crumb.....GREAT CRUMB, and a fabulous taste.

If you don't have a nifty banneton, a colander lined with a kitchen towel (NOT terry cloth, don't ask how I know), and rubbed with flour will do just fine:

Dough in the colander

After doubling in the colander

Now is the time, as La Julia said, to have the courage of your convictions:

I put the peel on top of the colander, and flipped the whole gamish over in one big, fast, swift move. *MENTAL NOTE* Either lightly flour the peel or sprinkle flour lightly over the top of the dough...I had a b*tch of a time getting the dough off the peel onto the stone....

On the peel & slashed. I still have troubles with my slashing as well....

But this one turned out pretty well with the slashes. The finished loaf:

Will ya LOOK AT THAT CRUMB????

I mean...seriously. Look at that crumb !

I varied from the "Fine Cuisine" method by using a stone, and a trash roasting pan I preheated along with the oven to 475°. When I put the bread in the oven, I poured boiling water into the preheated pan. That's the method I find works best for me, and gives me the most steam. I also don't risk cracking my stone if water hits it (don't ask me how I know) or the oven door glass (mercifully I *don't* know about that one).

The poolish from yesterday got mixed with fresh flour, yeast, salt and water today. I did that by hand, and then did a bit of hand kneading. After it rested for a bit (rest.....I can identify with that), then I dumped it into the KitchenAid and worked it with the dough hook for about 10 minutes. The technique says 8, I find consistently for me, 10 works better and gives me a windowpane I don't get at 8.

A great loaf. It will be great toast tomorrow.

[Pierogi]

And then there was dinner.

Dinner inspiration tonight was this:

THE most beautiful package of beef short ribs I've seen in manys a year. Seriously. These were stunning. And only in SoCal in FEBRUARY (when I bought them) could you find a package of short ribs labeled "Excellent Bar-B-Que" !

And the recipe was found in this:

I know a lot of people rag on Ina, and yeah, sometimes I do find her schtick a bit annoying. OK, so it should be "GOOD" vanilla and "GOOD" olive oil and "GOOD" whatever, and her giggle is really, really getting on my last nerve....and yeah, she's on Food Network, so that automatically means she's got no cred.

But she writes good, solid, relatively uncomplicated recipes that 99.99% of the time turn out great. I have 5 of her cookbooks and love them and use them all. I can't really think of an Ina recipe that I've tried that has failed. And most of them are stellar. As was "Scott's Short Ribs" from "Family Style".

Which led us to this cast of ingredients:

First I trimmed the ribs, which really, didn't need much work. But they were better after a quick session with my boning knife:

Then they got the S&P treatment, and browned real good in the ol' trusty LeCruset:

That was one step I deviated from Ina. She wrote to brown the ribs in a hot oven on a sheet pan. First off, my bread was still in the oven, and it was at a different temp. Second, why on EARTH would you not want to develop that lovely fond? So into the LC they went.

Brown 'em hard on all sides, baby:

Remove the ribs from the pan, and set them aside.

There's that fond I'm talkin' about, then dump in some veg.....celery, carrots, fennel and a leek. Large dice on them, and smaller on the onion.

Yes, there were veggie handouts given....

Throw in some garlic and let it cook for a bit. Pour a goodly amount of red wine (I used a Paso Robles Rhone style red) over the sauteed veg, and let reduce by half. Drop in an herb bouquet (rosemary and thyme), and return the ribs. Pour in some *GOOD* (thank you Ina) beef stock/broth, almost to cover the ribs, bring to a boil, cover and shove into the oven.

Almost time (good, 'cuz I'm hungry):

Wonder what's in the LC?

Why beefy, rib-y, brothy goodness !

But first, we gotta rest the ribs (rest, REST, wait *I* need rest)...

And reduce the sauce....

But 'twas worth it. With polenta and roasted asparagus and the balance of the bottle of wine that went into the rib stew.

And that's evidence of a well-cooked short rib !

Yes, there was beefy goodness handouts dispensed as well !!! But y'all knew that.

Edited March 7, 2011 by Pierogi (log)

[Pierogi]

Simultaneously, we also used these:

To make, at various stages, this:

And ultimately this, which will also be used tomorrow.

I mean, seriously, how bad can anything made with bacon, onion sauteed in bacon grease, potatoes and cream cheese be? Really. That's about as good as it gets.

Oh, and I really, really love the label on the TJ's gold potato bag:

I just love them. They have such a cool vibe about the whole enterprise....

[Pierogi]

One more, and then I'm going to go collapse in a corner and twitch for a bit.

The dishwasher tonight was only slightly less impacted than last night:

But that also didn't take into account what I washed by hand.....

Night all.

Stick a fork in me, please, I am well and truly done.

[Blether]

Great work ! Enjoy the rest.

[Shelby]

You were a busy woman yesterday!

The ribs look great. I never make polenta for dinner...I need to do that.

Oh and your bread. Seriously beautiful.

It's going to snow here for the next two days. *SIGH* Already a winter storm watch in effect. I really enjoyed all of the outdoor market pics. Everything is just so...green and pretty.

[Dejah]

Thanks, Roberta, for answering the questions about Long Beach and QM.

Love the casual way you write - a conversation peppered with appropriate expressions.

I was so thinking of you and your bungee cord last night while I was replacing the duct tape on one of my condiment shelves in the fridge! Made a note on the shopping list: buy bungee cord!

Could do with a bowl of that stew and a slice of your bread right now even tho' it's not even breakfast time!

[lancastermike]

Outstanding work with the bread. As a home cook nothing is more satisfing to me than when I can make a good loaf. It is not always easy not always a success but you got that one. And the short ribs look great too.

Keep on going. Love your home cooking blog.

[llc45]

Love the bungee cord idea - the holder in my basement fridge keeps popping out sending all of our mixers onto the floor. Amazed out how organized your fridge shelves are.

Hey, like I said, it looks ghetto, but it's a) cheap and b) it works !

Organized.....oy. It feels like I'm constantly removing half the shelf to find what I'm looking for. My whole problem is I'm a condiment slut, I can't resist 'em. Or I'll find a really, REALLY cool recipe I just HAVE TO MAKE and it will need the one sauce/paste/rub/mix I *don't* already have in the fridge.

You have a kindred spirit here with the condiments - mine so over take the fridge that we can't find anything. We always joke that when we win the lottery the first purchase will be the largest fridge we can find, and then a larger space to fit it! Loving the blog and the way you write.

[Darienne]

It's only 9:30 am where I live and already I feel a certain exhaustion simply from reading about all the great dishes you made yesterday. Surely you don't work at that pace all the time??? Or maybe you are a Kerry Beal clone. That woman is indefatigable. And you are too it seems. I think I'll go and have a little lie down...

[robirdstx]

Robirdstx, hadn't thought about the connection to LA, but I LIKE it since Long Beach is, in fact, the largest "suburb" of LA.

I hadn't thought of it either until your teaser photo from Signal Hill - just looked like the LA coastline to me. Must be in the DNA - being a native Californian, Santa Monica born. My father's parents were long time residents of Long Beach and I still have family in Huntington Beach and surrounds. Loving your blog!

[judiu]

And then there was dinner.

Dinner inspiration tonight was this:

THE most beautiful package of beef short ribs I've seen in manys a year. Seriously. These were stunning. And only in SoCal in FEBRUARY (when I bought them) could you find a package of short ribs labeled "Excellent Bar-B-Que" !

I realize that California folks look down on us as "that other citrus producing state" , but here in South Florida we actually get packages of meat marked "Great for the Grill" even in January! Those short ribs sure look good! Thanks for the blog and I appreciate the vicarious visit to SoCal .

Edited March 7, 2011 by heidih
Fix quote tags (log)

[Pierogi]

Great work ! Enjoy the rest.

Thanks Blether ! Believe me, I did. I think I was asleep as my head was on its way to the pillow.

[Pierogi]

You have a kindred spirit here with the condiments - mine so over take the fridge that we can't find anything. We always joke that when we win the lottery the first purchase will be the largest fridge we can find, and then a larger space to fit it! Loving the blog and the way you write.

Thank you llc45, that is very sweet of you....

[Pierogi]

You were a busy woman yesterday!

The ribs look great. I never make polenta for dinner...I need to do that.

Oh and your bread. Seriously beautiful.

It's going to snow here for the next two days. *SIGH* Already a winter storm watch in effect. I really enjoyed all of the outdoor market pics. Everything is just so...green and pretty.

Yep, it was a looooong day. You know, I don't make polenta all that often either, and everytime I do, I think....why don't I make this more often?

Thanks. I am pretty proud of that as well. As I said, it must've been Blog Karma.

[Pierogi]

Thanks, Roberta, for answering the questions about Long Beach and QM.

Love the casual way you write - a conversation peppered with appropriate expressions.

I was so thinking of you and your bungee cord last night while I was replacing the duct tape on one of my condiment shelves in the fridge! Made a note on the shopping list: buy bungee cord!

Could do with a bowl of that stew and a slice of your bread right now even tho' it's not even breakfast time!

Dejah, thank you so much. Means a lot to me.