Foodblog: Smithy - Notes from the land of Cheap Refrigeration

[annabelle]

Those ice avalanches can be bad news, too. Smithy, does your home have cleats on the roof to break up the snow blanket? I had them on my houses in PA.

[Smithy]

Dinner spread.jpg

Is that a 50s coffee server repurposed as a wine carafe?

Very yummy inviting looking spread. I'll be over directly.

You'd be welcome!

I assume you're asking about the carafe on the right?

It does look like a 50's coffee carafe, now that you mention it, but it was a wedding gift for my parents in the early '40's. I remember it sitting on display for as long as I can remember, but I don't remember Mom actually using it. She wasn't sure how she'd get it clean, and was worried about damaging the rattan wrapping. I figure this sort of thing was meant to be used, and so far I haven't had any problems.

Finn MacCool is supervising again. He keeps hogging the limelight.

Edited to add: rotuts, I think I got the left-hand carafe at TJMaxx a couple of years ago. Some of those shops carry great glassware at reasonably low prices.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Smithy (log)

[Smithy]

If its in a carafe you have to drink it all.

Good planning.

"" you have to drink it all """

rarely a problem. its the rate that's the issue

the above delicious spread allows you to take your time

...and if there's any left, it helps ease the cleanup.

[Smithy]

BTW: serious Kudos on those Splash Guards on your counter tops

people are a bit stretched on their costs when the splash guards come up

they are not cheeeeep

best investment one can make 3 " or more.

just saying.

Thank you. Yes, our kitchen designer convinced me that the extra granite for the splash guard would be money well spent. She was right...but I was surprised at the additional cost.

Then again, a lot of things added up - a little here, a little there. Kitchen remodeling is not cheap. I'm really glad we did it for ourselves, while we could enjoy it, instead of waiting until time to sell the house and then spending money to fix it up.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Smithy (log)

[Smithy]

Ta-Da! Turntables in the corners! The lower corner has larger-radius turntables with a corner cutout. I didn't bother attaching a photo, but I'll show it if someone asks.

If it's not too much trouble, I would like to see a picture of this. We are moving into a condo next week that has three of these corner cupboards and i'm trying to find out what would make the contents more accessible.

PS I also like the pictures of your kitties.

No trouble at all!

The door is jointed so it makes that right-angle corner, but then can open straight to clear the way. You can see that the turntables have a quarter-circle "notch" taken out to accommodate the corner; that allows the turntable to use more of the available space.

The turntables move independently. Marco Polo thinks they're really cool.

As you see, the storage is pretty good in there. I have a couple of tall canisters of pasta tucked away in the corner, off the turntable, but there isn't much wasted space.

[Smithy]

I don't know whether to describe it as good planning (crafty) or bad (calories) but so far today I've noshed on leftover bread, cheese, and tri-tip. That tri-tip was as tender and flavorful as I can remember having in a very long time. I think I'm onto something.

Since it's snowing again, and we have new snow removal equipment coming today (a fancier roof rake) I figure I'll burn those calories. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

(Yes, the pipes are okay, thank heaven! and no, no cleats except to protect the vents.)

I'm not sure what I'll be cooking today. Depends on how the snow removal project goes. Tomorrow, for sure, another trip to town so I can show off more favorite shops.

[annabelle]

Say! We live in different house together, Smithy. My corner cabinet is just like that, sans kitty cats.

[ElsieD]

Nancy, thank you for posting the pictures of the cupboards and also the kitties. I have a VERY soft spot in my heart for kitties. If Zorro is still at the Humane Society next Thursday (we move Wednesday) he will have a new home that very same day!

[Smithy]

ElsieD, you're very welcome! Good luck with that move - and with finding a new companion to share your lives...if not Zorro, then another. Or three or four!

It occurs to me that I need to have started my next batch of sauerkraut several days ago. I'll try to get to that today, and post photos.

With regard to corner cupboards, I was surprised to find that even they have design choices. There are semicircular pull-out shelves that pivot halfway out through the door opening and then slide out the rest of the way. Their advantage is that they have a standard-width door instead of the relatively small opening of my (and Annabelle's ) cupboards. I found myself having to trade off door space for wider cupboards elsewhere along the line, and I'm happy with this choice. The friends who came over last night went the other way in their larger kitchen, and they're happy with their choice. I'm grateful that so many options exist.

[Anna N]

like the center carafe way cool. bet my lowest shelf TJ's would be a lot better in it. have to look for one :

C.jpg

Check the thrift stores. Kerry and I have seen them there many, many times.

[judiu]

I beleive that style is called a "ship's decanter" because the wide bottom is not easily tipped over, if the ship pitches a bit. My mom had one; I don't know what ever happened to it, though... % (

[Dejah]

I am so enjoying your blog but suffering terribly with kitchen envy.

I've just added your citrus marinated roast chicken to my weekend cooking list, along with your meyer lemon fish.

Thank you!

[Smithy]

I am so enjoying your blog but suffering terribly with kitchen envy.

I've just added your citrus marinated roast chicken to my weekend cooking list, along with your meyer lemon fish.

Thank you!

Thank you, Dejah! I hope you enjoy those recipes as much as I have.

[catdaddy]

rotuts, I'm howling with laughter; that cartoon is very definitely "feed me" related and true to all four of our cats! Our Siberian husky is less subtle. it's a miracle he hasn't stuck his nose into the photos before now. I'll send you more information by PM; I'm always happy to talk about "my kids".

C. Sapidus, how nice of you to check in! That's funny about the cabinets. My darling and I have both lived in places without that grease-attracting gap above cabinets, and we both preferred to keep it open for display/storage...grease notwithstanding. It takes a stepladder for either of us to reach something up there, so anything we use frequently that can fit into a lower cabinet lives there instead. Your comment about grease accumulating despite a good hood makes me feel a bit better about our arrangement; maybe it isn't all that bad after all.

My fears about the roasting pan being overfilled were unfounded.

Cooked down nicely.jpg

In addition to the chicken we had brussels sprouts with bacon, and beverage of our choice. He prefers beer with dinner.

Dinner.jpg

This dish looks fabulous.

[Smithy]

Not much cookery today. As foreshadowed by an earlier post ("foreshadowed": don't that sound literary?) we were fairly well occupied with new snow-removal equipment. Furthermore, we had more than a gracious plenty of leftovers. (I haven't even gotten into the Christmas cookies! Perhaps after I finish this post. )

I have a new Christmas gift to show off, but didn't get around to playing with it tonight.

What I did do was take about 3 pounds of cabbage and threaten to turn it into sauerkraut. It had better listen. I don't want to have to tell it again.

The head of cabbage was beautiful, but my photo of it basking in the glory of the colander didn't come out well enough for publication. Trust me: it had large, luxuriant leaves on the outside that are now playing a major role in sealing the sauerkraut jar.

After rinsing a bit and coring, it was time to trot out the food processer, salt, and well-cleaned 1-gallon jar.

This time, Sekhmet the spook supervised. She was really hoping I'd put down the camera and the knives and come cuddle her. I did that later.

This kraut batch may be a bit too salty. I keep reading that the best proportion is approximately 3 T salt for every 5 lbs cabbage. I think I have about 4 T salt for 3 lbs cabbage. On the other hand, I added water to make sure the cabbage was well submerged. I'll just have to see how it works out. The first attempt last fall had such an excellent result that I'm now in danger of saying, "oh, that's easy!" when it was really just Beginner's Luck.

I sealed the lid in the first picture because, after filling and stuffing the jar and making sure all available air space was taken up with water-filled Ziplock bags, I washed the outside. Most of the time the jar will sit with one of those Charles Viancin lily pads atop the mouth; gases will be able to get out, but nothing will be able to get in. I really need to go buy more of those little portable flapper valves.

[Shelby]

I have a head of cabbage in the fridge. I've never made sauerkraut…..I might need to try this weekend.

[Smithy]

I have a head of cabbage in the fridge. I've never made sauerkraut..I might need to try this weekend.

Shelby, it's very easy...at least, it's easy to set up and seems almost foolproof.

As noted above, I may be overconfident. ;-)

I've been away most of the day and occupied during the rest of it. Shopping report and photos to follow, sometime this evening.

Edited for spelling: "foolpoof" is just too accidentally ironic to let stand. Although it was a funny accident. :-)

Edited January 18, 2014 by Smithy (log)

[Smithy]

I picked up some sunchokes. a.k.a. Jerusalem artichokes. I have a recipe in mind to try out of Fine Cooking, but what favorite treatments can somebody here teach me?

Edited January 18, 2014 by Smithy (log)

[Meredith380]

Not much cookery today. As foreshadowed by an earlier post ("foreshadowed": don't that sound literary?) we were fairly well occupied with new snow-removal equipment. Furthermore, we had more than a gracious plenty of leftovers. (I haven't even gotten into the Christmas cookies! Perhaps after I finish this post. )

I have a new Christmas gift to show off, but didn't get around to playing with it tonight.

What I did do was take about 3 pounds of cabbage and threaten to turn it into sauerkraut. It had better listen. I don't want to have to tell it again.

The head of cabbage was beautiful, but my photo of it basking in the glory of the colander didn't come out well enough for publication. Trust me: it had large, luxuriant leaves on the outside that are now playing a major role in sealing the sauerkraut jar.

After rinsing a bit and coring, it was time to trot out the food processer, salt, and well-cleaned 1-gallon jar.

Cabbage and queen.jpg

This time, Sekhmet the spook supervised. She was really hoping I'd put down the camera and the knives and come cuddle her. I did that later.

This kraut batch may be a bit too salty. I keep reading that the best proportion is approximately 3 T salt for every 5 lbs cabbage. I think I have about 4 T salt for 3 lbs cabbage. On the other hand, I added water to make sure the cabbage was well submerged. I'll just have to see how it works out. The first attempt last fall had such an excellent result that I'm now in danger of saying, "oh, that's easy!" when it was really just Beginner's Luck.

Kraut sealed.jpg

I sealed the lid in the first picture because, after filling and stuffing the jar and making sure all available air space was taken up with water-filled Ziplock bags, I washed the outside. Most of the time the jar will sit with one of those Charles Viancin lily pads atop the mouth; gases will be able to get out, but nothing will be able to get in. I really need to go buy more of those little portable flapper valves.

[url=http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=37158]Kraut lidded.

Nancy, what size is your Cusinart? I just got a six cup one and am intimated by it.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Meredith380 (log)

[Smithy]

Nancy, what size is your Cusinart? I just got a six cup one and am intimated by it.

Meredith, mine is an 11-cup. I was intimidated by my mother's Cuisinart, many years ago, I forget the size. As I recall, the biggest issue was figuring out which pieces could be disconnected in the feeder tube, and which were supposed to stay together. What I love about my Cuisinart is its quiet power and weight: it sits solidly and hums quietly on the counter as it chops or blends or grinds or shreds; the Regal I bought many many years ago shook the house and scared the livestock for the simplest tasks. What I don't like about it is cleaning it, and taking things apart that weren't designed to be taken apart so I can shove large pieces of food down its throat, and/or clean it properly. I think the issues are the same as with my mother's, but I'm more assertive with kitchen machinery than I used to be. I'll be happy to work with you, long distance as it were, to make friends with your Cuisinart! Please feel free to post questions to this blog, although it's winding down, or you can PM me, or start a topic about it to get the expertise of many eGulleteers. The advantage of the PM route is that it's private; the advantage of starting your own topic is that you may find someone with the same model you have, and/or someone who's come up with solutions new to both of us.

[Smithy]

Tonight's dinner: Jerusalem artichokes via the following recipe from Fine Cooking:

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/pan-roasted-sunchokes-artichoke-hearts-lemon-herb-butter.aspx

and brussels sprouts pan-cooked with bacon.

The sunchokes are interesting: a bit lemony, a bit like artichokes, a bit like jicama, but they look like potatoes. This is more or less what the magazine said, and we both agreed. Tasty! We'll be eating them again in the future.

Er, not the most attractive food stylings in the world. Fortunately, our tongues are colorblind.

[Smithy]

Teaser from the Friday shopping expedition:

Has anyone else played with those Kochblume spill stoppers? They're wizard!

[Plantes Vertes]

Smithy, Jerusalem artichokes make nice crisps (ie chips). You can serve like this them as an accompaniment to game fowl, or to add a crunchy element to a salad for example; I had a very nice meal once of a slow-cooked, deep-fried egg with braised bitter greens, hazelnuts, hazelnut oil and the crisps on top.

Otherwise you can turn them into a pureed soup with some sherry, mushrooms, onion, rosemary and creme fraiche, or batter and deep-fry them in slices; roasted to go with a lemon chicken dish is a good call too, and I've also had them poached in olive oil as a tapa.

I am curious about something; how do you and DH divide the kitchen work? What is your process for deciding what to eat?

Thanks!

[Anna N]

I am curious to know if either of you suffered any gut grief from the Jerusalem artichokes. Anxiously awaiting report on your shopping trip.

[annabelle]

I'm with Anna. Jerusalem artichokes don't like me, either.