Dinner! 2013 (Part 5)

huiray · November 27, 2013

Shelby - ground pork is hard to find? I suppose that must be so in your area, for it is one of the easiest things for me to get, both in the conventional Western-style supermarkets and the Chinese/"Asian" groceries around me.

Your meal(s) looks nice!

liuzhou · November 27, 2013

I finally got my hands on some ground pork (I had NO idea how hard this is to find)

Ground (minced) pork is easy for me to find, but I prefer to do my own. That way I know what's in it - and control the fat to flesh ratio depending on what I want to use it for.

In fact although I have a mincer, I seldom use it. I prefer the traditional Chinese two cleaver chopping method. A cleaver in each hand and set up a chopping beat Ringo would be proud of. I hear the sound all around me every day.

Technically, I suppose it's pork haché. But it's easier to control the texture. And cleaning a couple of cleavers is a whole lot easier than cleaning the mincer.

Edited November 30, 2013 by liuzhou (log)

**Shelby** · November 27, 2013

Shelby - ground pork is hard to find? I suppose that must be so in your area, for it is one of the easiest things for me to get, both in the conventional Western-style supermarkets and the Chinese/"Asian" groceries around me.
Your meal(s) looks nice!

Thank you!

The regular store I go to does not have ground pork. I look for it every time I go. My husband found some at the Asian market in the big city. Ground pork will now be a regular at our house. I love it.

I finally got my hands on some ground pork (I had NO idea how hard this is to find)
Ground (minced) pork is easy for me to find, but I prefer to do my own. That way I know what's in it - and control the fat to flesh ration depending on what I want to use it for.
In fact although I have a mincer, I seldom use it. I prefer the traditional Chinese two cleaver chopping method. A cleaver in each hand and set up a chopping beat Ringo would be proud of. I hear the sound all around me every day.
Technically, I suppose it's pork haché. But it's easier to control the texture. And cleaning a couple of cleavers is a whole lot easier than cleaning the mincer.

I would love to make my own, too. I even tried to find some cheap cuts at the store to do my own, but they didn't offer any.

I wouldn't have thought about using a cleaver. I have a commercial grinder with the large hole attachment, I wonder if that still makes too fine a grind?

We butchered a hog a long time ago. Guess it's time to check prices and see if it's feasible.

dcarch · November 27, 2013

"-----In fact although I have a mincer, I seldom use it. I prefer the traditional Chinese two cleaver chopping method. A cleaver in each hand and set up a chopping beat Ringo would be proud of. I hear the sound all around me every day. -----"

Absolutely!

No setup time, not much to clean up afterwards.

You can chop enough for one meat ball, one burger, or for a big party.

You can chop with all the other ingredients and seasoning all at the same time.

---------------------------------------------

Those of you who have not seen a live silkie chicken, Google Image, beautiful bird, very ugly without feather.

dcarch

Edited November 27, 2013 by dcarch (log)

Kim Shook · November 27, 2013

I’ve been gone a long time. Lots of health issues, as some of you already know. I ended up with a kidney stone (that is apparently what’s been going on with me since August) and am still recovering from the back injury. I’m feeling much better – still really tired, but very little pain except for an achy back. I actually made lemon chess tarts and mini quiches to put in the freezer for Christmas yesterday. Mr. Kim is helping with the mise so that I can get things done.

Sitting in a chair has been difficult, but I’ve been checking in from time to time and vicariously enjoying all of the incredible meals that you’ve all been making. They have been inspiring and appetite stirring! Thank you all for your good wished and I particularly appreciated your prescription, lesliec!

This is the first real meal I’ve made in a LONG time! It was very simple, but I was glad to have done it finally. Salad and brats with kraut and fried onions:

patrickamory · November 28, 2013

Kim, those brats are mouthwatering. I've just eaten dinner and I could wolf one down right now!

Everyone who enquired about the silkie (black chicken): I followed a New York Times recipe that seemed decidedly odd, and called for jujubes and wolfberries (hong zao and goji), as well as some Indian dried spices, Thai bird chiles, galangal - and coca-cola! (I substituted dark beer with a little white sugar for the latter, per another recommendation I found online). I have no idea whether this sort of preparation is normal in mainland China. And the quantity of dark soy sauce was off the map. But it was certainly delicious.

I've eaten black chicken stew or soup at restaurants and have found the flavor and texture full and rich - sort of like double chicken. I will definitely be making this again, probably in a simpler style.

Norm Matthews · November 28, 2013

The 'kids' are both working tomorrow so turkey dinner was today.

liuzhou · November 28, 2013

Everyone who enquired about the silkie (black chicken): I followed a New York Times recipe that seemed decidedly odd, and called for jujubes and wolfberries (hong zao and goji), as well as some Indian dried spices, Thai bird chiles, galangal - and coca-cola! (I substituted dark beer with a little white sugar for the latter, per another recommendation I found online). I have no idea whether this sort of preparation is normal in mainland China. And the quantity of dark soy sauce was off the map. But it was certainly delicious.
I've eaten black chicken stew or soup at restaurants and have found the flavor and texture full and rich - sort of like double chicken. I will definitely be making this again, probably in a simpler style.

That is one weird recipe. I'm not sure what you are referring to as "Indian" spices. The spices listed are all widely available in China (Guangxi, where I live, produces 85% of the world's star anise, for example.) Cardamoms in China refers to 'black cardamoms' (cao guo). If the dish had a Chinese origin, which seems likely, I'd guess that is what was used. The jujubes and wolfberries are very common with silkies.

The biggest difficulty for me would be the Spanish onion.We usually only get red onions around here, but coincidentally one of the supermarkets had white onions today. Only the second time I've seen them in 20 years! Galangal can be difficult, too. It sometimes turns up.

The cooking of chicken in Coca Cola was a big fad a few years back. I believe it originated in Hong Kong or Taiwan then spread to the mainland. But I haven't encountered it for a while*. Actually, it was a lot better than it sounded or I expected.

The amount of soy sauce is bizarre.

I love your description of the silkies as "double chicken". That is spot on. Intense chicken flavour. I've only ever had or seen it in soups here, but they have all been rich and full as you describe.

* Edit. About an hour after I wrote about not having come across Coca Cola chicken for a while, a friend who is tentatively learning to cook sent me a message that she had just made it and was surprised by her success.

Edited November 28, 2013 by liuzhou (log)

C. sapidus · November 29, 2013

Thirteen for Thanksgiving this year. More food than pictures, so I am probably forgetting some of the food.

Mrs. C made babaghanoush (eggplant smoke-grilled on the Big Green Egg), chicken liver and cashew pate, cranberry sauce, stuffing with mushrooms, grilled salmon with soy-maple glaze, and the turkey. More about the turkey anon.

Our neighbor is starting a catering business, so she provided mac and cheese, pear salad with blue cheese and raspberry dressing, buttery rolls, pumpkin pie, and a fantastic curried butternut squash soup. Friends and family provided mashed potatoes, salad, cookies, chocolate cake, and strawberry trifle.

I was in charge of vegetables, and made creamy braised Brussels sprouts, green bean salad, braised shallot confit, stir-fried bok choy with fermented black beans and garlic (a special request), and Bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce (sweet potatoes smoke-grilled on the Egg) . My favorite was the braised shallot confit, browned in butter, flamed with cognac, and then cooked down with red wine and fresh thyme.

Younger son, to my surprise, went straight for the Brussels sprouts when he got hungry again after dinner. :shock:

Grown-up drinks included beer, wine, hard cider, and dark & stormys.

The star of the show was Mrs. C’s turkey. She brined it overnight, iced the breasts, put Cajun butter under the skin, and then cooked it on the Big Green Egg with cherry wood for smoke. Best turkey I have ever eaten, with the possible exception of the practice turkey she made a few days ago.

The picture does not do justice to this juicy, smoky fowl.

Edited November 29, 2013 by C. sapidus (log)

Morkai · November 29, 2013

Could you provide a little more detail about "icing the breasts"? I think I understand, but not completely.

C. sapidus · November 29, 2013

Could you provide a little more detail about "icing the breasts"? I think I understand, but not completely.

From Harold McGee, via NPR's Terry Gross:

MCGEE: Take the bird out ahead of time and let the legs warm up a little bit while you keep the breasts covered with ice packs. That way, you keep the breasts cold. The legs warm up by maybe 10, 20 degrees, and that way, when you put the bird in the oven, you've already built in a temperature differential. The breasts are going to end up, at a given time, less-cooked than the legs. And that's exactly what you want.

I hope that helps. Mrs. C used ice cubes in plastic baggies.

gfweb · November 29, 2013

Dinner table before being stormed by hungry guests. Menu: SV Turkey breast (140F), roasted dark meat (155F), turkey stock gravy, cranberry onion conserve, au gratin yukon golds, braised kale, red cabbage braised in apple juice , mashed yams (allspice, brown sugar and liquid smoke), corn bread with and without jalapenos, stuffing.

A good time was had by all.

Panaderia Canadiense · November 29, 2013

I celebrated Thanksgiving with the rest of the Canadians back in October, so dinner last night was just simple chicken fingers.

rotuts · November 29, 2013

when i used to do whole roast turkey, I used the McGee trick right after I heard about it. works well. take your time with it.

**ChrisTaylor** · November 29, 2013

Thirteen for Thanksgiving this year. More food than pictures, so I am probably forgetting some of the food.
Mrs. C made babaghanoush (eggplant smoke-grilled on the Big Green Egg), chicken liver and cashew pate, cranberry sauce, stuffing with mushrooms, grilled salmon with soy-maple glaze, and the turkey. More about the turkey anon.
Our neighbor is starting a catering business, so she provided mac and cheese, pear salad with blue cheese and raspberry dressing, buttery rolls, pumpkin pie, and a fantastic curried butternut squash soup. Friends and family provided mashed potatoes, salad, cookies, chocolate cake, and strawberry trifle.
I was in charge of vegetables, and made creamy braised Brussels sprouts, green bean salad, braised shallot confit, stir-fried bok choy with fermented black beans and garlic (a special request), and Bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce (sweet potatoes smoke-grilled on the Egg) . My favorite was the braised shallot confit, browned in butter, flamed with cognac, and then cooked down with red wine and fresh thyme.
Younger son, to my surprise, went straight for the Brussels sprouts when he got hungry again after dinner.
Grown-up drinks included beer, wine, hard cider, and dark & stormys.
The star of the show was Mrs. C’s turkey. She brined it overnight, iced the breasts, put Cajun butter under the skin, and then cooked it on the Big Green Egg with cherry wood for smoke. Best turkey I have ever eaten, with the possible exception of the practice turkey she made a few days ago.
The picture does not do justice to this juicy, smoky fowl.

Can you provide more details on the smoking process? I've been meaning to cook a turkey in my hot smoker for ages.

Keith_W · November 29, 2013

Could you provide a little more detail about "icing the breasts"? I think I understand, but not completely.

From Harold McGee, via NPR's Terry Gross:

MCGEE: Take the bird out ahead of time and let the legs warm up a little bit while you keep the breasts covered with ice packs. That way, you keep the breasts cold. The legs warm up by maybe 10, 20 degrees, and that way, when you put the bird in the oven, you've already built in a temperature differential. The breasts are going to end up, at a given time, less-cooked than the legs. And that's exactly what you want.

I hope that helps. Mrs. C used ice cubes in plastic baggies.

That's the technique I use as well.

C. sapidus · November 30, 2013

. . . The star of the show was Mrs. C’s turkey. She brined it overnight, iced the breasts, put Cajun butter under the skin, and then cooked it on the Big Green Egg with cherry wood for smoke. Best turkey I have ever eaten, with the possible exception of the practice turkey she made a few days ago.
The picture does not do justice to this juicy, smoky fowl.
Can you provide more details on the smoking process? I've been meaning to cook a turkey in my hot smoker for ages.

Keith – Thanks for the pic. Worth a thousand words, give or take.

Chris - Mrs. C cooked the turkey on the Big Green Egg at 350F (165C) using indirect heat, lump charcoal, and soaked cherry wood for smoke. For indirect heat she used a pizza stone suspended between the fire and the grill grate. In case you are not familiar with it, the BGE is a kamado-style ceramic cooker.

I am not sure what to call this type of cooking. Smoke-baking? If Mrs. C followed the recipe she pulled the turkey at around 165F (74C). The turkey rested in a cooler until time to serve.

I have hot-smoked chicken on a Weber Smoky Mountain (250F / 121C). The meat turns out fantastic but the skin never crisps up. In contrast, the higher temperature from smoke-baking the turkey yielded a smoke ring, plenty of smoke flavor, and wonderfully textured skin.

This evening Mrs. C is making a smoky turkey stock from the carcass. I need to think about how best to use this particular bounty. :smile:

Franci · November 30, 2013

WOW, Bruce that turkey looks very good!

I didn't have time to take pictures yesterday but today, for reclycling the leftovers, yes.

We had a risotto with brown turkey stock that I made at beginning of the week (still have the carcass for making extra stock), plus turkey gallette and sauté mustard and outer leaves of romaine.

patrickamory · December 1, 2013

Catching up a bit.

Chole:

Green beans with chile and coconut:

Leftover chili with chole and saffron rice:

Anna N · December 1, 2013

I'm not usually precious enough to name my meals but this seemed to warrant it. So I present

"Not Ivan's Ramen".

heidih · December 1, 2013

Looks good to me Anna - are those tofu-shirataki noodles?

judiu · December 1, 2013

Patrick, what is the chichpea dish, chole, like? I love chickpeas and onions, but not chilies. Very tender tongue!

patrickamory · December 2, 2013

judiu, chole needn't be chile-hot at all. This one wasn't.

I'm always trying new chole recipes; I think my favorite one is not the one pictured above but one from Meenal's Kitchen that also includes chicken. If you decide to try it, read the recipe carefully because the ingredients are not listed in order. "Dhania" is ground coriander seed. Ginger-garlic paste is equal quantities of each, minced and ground or pounded with a bit of water if necessary. For "curd," use full-fat yogurt with a little sour cream.

I pressure-cooked dried chickpeas.

Edit: would be helpful if I included the link:

http://meenalmehta1.blogspot.com/2007/04/murgh-choley.html

Edited December 2, 2013 by patrickamory (log)