Dinner 2016 (Part 10)

[Duvel]

10 hours ago, HungryChris said:

 

Well, it's been just about 3 weeks and it's time for an update.  Right after I took this pic, I took it out of the cryovac, trimmed a bit of fat off the bottom.

Mixed up the brine (6 cups of water and 1 1/2 cup of Tender Quick, put the beef in the brine and injected it well, all over.

Added some bay leaves, rosemary, black peppercorns, hot sauce and held it submerged with a dish, covered it and put it in the fridge for 3 weeks.

In the past, I would braise it for about 3 hours, but this time I put in the IP with 2 cups of water, a splash of cider vinegar, more bay leaves, raw onions and unpeeled garlic. Cooked it for 90 minutes and released the pressure after 10 minutes. I ran it under cold water to get it cool enough to handle and the skin slipped off in one big piece. Then it went into the fridge to cool. It is much easier to slice when cold.

Well, of course, I had to make a sandwich. I went for a Reuben.

It just doesn't get much better than that!

HC

HC

 

Wow. Three weeks curing time ... How did you come up with that time ?

Edited November 11, 2016 by Duvel (log)

[HungryChris]

5 hours ago, Duvel said:

Wow. Three weeks curing time ... How did you come up with that time ?

 

This is something I have been doing, off and on, for a number of years. Injecting plus 3 weeks cure is a method I have arrived at after experiencing spots of a "pot roast brown" appearance in the very center of the meat. It is just my method to insure that the cure penetrates completely. It also seems to contribute to a very tender product.

 

@Shelby, go for it! I look foreword to hearing about your exploits!

HC

Edited November 11, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

[HungryChris]

Fried scallop dinner with spicy lemon garlic aioli and Shelby fries.

HC

[mgaretz]

Made char siu in the air fryer again, this time with cubes of pork shoulder.  Came out very nice.  Made it into a stir fry with snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, onion and bean sprouts.  Sorry about the messy plate. I was half-way through the first helping before remembering to snap a pic.

 

 

 

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, HungryChris said:

This is something I have been doing, off and on, for a number of years. Injecting plus 3 weeks cure is a method I have arrived at after experiencing spots of a "pot roast brown" appearance in the very center of the meat. It is just my method to insure that the cure penetrates completely. It also seems to contribute to a very tender product.

 

@Shelby, go for it! I look foreword to hearing about your exploits!

HC

 

Excellent ... I will give it a try. No Tenderquick available here but I'll figure out the Nitrite concentration and work it out from there ! Thanks !

[Ann_T]

Something I hadn't made in a while. 

 

 

Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy.

[liuzhou]

Been out of the cooking loop for a few days. Tenderly nudging myself back in. So tender that the starter involved no cooking whatsoever.

 

 

Salmon sashimi with black crab roe. There was the usual soy and fake wasabi dip just off screen.

 

Then:

 

 

Spicy chicken livers with onion, garlic, white and red chili peppers and red wine.

 

There was also simple stir fried straw mushrooms and a further dish of wilted baby bok choy. I didn't photograph these as I was in a hurry to eat the liver while it was still warm. It was nearly as rare as the salmon, so I was worried it would cool quickly.

[Ann_T]

Liuzhou,  That salmon looks perfect, BUT, it is the chicken livers that has my mouth watering.   And it is only 5:30 AM here on the west coast. 

 

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Ann_T said:

Something I hadn't made in a while. 

 

.....

 

Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy.

Oh please can you share your recipe for Salisbury steak. It's been years!  

[shain]

Harak Osbao inspired by @Nicolai (At this thread). I've supplemented the brown lentils with some split red lentils, since they cook much faster, they dissolved into the stew and made it thicker while the brown lentils stayed intact. Tamarind water and a small amount of cumin, chili and anise seeds. Instead of frying pieces of pita bread, I've kept some of the pasta (ptitim actually), soaked it in cold water, then proceeded to fry it. The texture is very similar to fried flat bread, but I thought it looked nice and being very small, it mixed well with the lentils. The rest of the pasta was cooked normally and mixed into the stew. Tee addition of pomegranate kernels is however what makes this dish, they balance the sour tamarind and earthy lentil very well.
So thanks Nicolai, it was quite delicious!

 

I've also made a quick-flatbread with zaatar and yogurt - that's a thick batter, leavened with baking powder and baked in a pan until brown and crisp from outside. It turned out very nice and flavorful. Also very quick to make.
Served warm with labneh and tomatoes.

[Anna N]

@shain

 

Don't think you can get away without sharing that flatbread recipe.

 

 I will let you have my share of the lentils in exchange.

[liamsaunt]

popovers to go with a chicken stew that I did not get a picture of:

 

 

and then last night's dinner of bratwurst, potato pancakes, sauerkraut, homemade applesauce, etc.

 

[shain]

19 minutes ago, Anna N said:

@shain

 

Don't think you can get away without sharing that flatbread recipe.

 

 I will let you have my share of the lentils in exchange.

 

Here you go:

 

@liamsaunt Those are great looking popovers!

 

[blue_dolphin]

@shain, what are the little circular things? Is that the pasta?  Looks like Cheerios, but I'm pretty sure it's not 

[shain]

12 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

@shain, what are the little circular things? Is that the pasta?  Looks like Cheerios, but I'm pretty sure it's not 

 

This is ptitim (Israeli couscous), so it falls under the term pasta. The boiled portion was toasted before cooking, and the rest pan fried, hence the golden color. I must say, I've never noticed how similar it is to Cheerios (albeit smaller).
I now want to try and make a Cheerios inspired snack, of ptitim, pan fried in butter; with honey and nuts - somewhat like Struffoli.

Edited November 11, 2016 by shain (log)

[Shelby]

I want beef tongue, chicken livers, salisbury steak, scallops........

 

Nice meals, everyone!

 

Chicken and hatch chile enchiladas

 

Sandwich night

Fried fish, shrimp and zucchini

 

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

@shain

 

Don't think you can get away without sharing that flatbread recipe.

 

 I will let you have my share of the lentils in exchange.

Thank you so very much. 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, shain said:

 

This is ptitim (Israeli couscous), so it falls under the term pasta. The boiled portion was toasted before cooking, and the rest pan fried, hence the golden color. I must say, I've never noticed how similar it is to Cheerios (albeit smaller).
I now want to try and make a Cheerios inspired snack, of ptitim, pan fried in butter; with honey and nuts - somewhat like Struffoli.

 

Who knew. Cheerios for grownups. The product I can get labelled Israeli couscous is solid balls looking more like overgrown regular couscous.

[blue_dolphin]

9 minutes ago, Anna N said:

The product I can get labelled Israeli couscous is solid balls looking more like overgrown regular couscous.

Yes, that is the only type I have seen.  Something new every day!

[scubadoo97]

Funny, Cheereos was the first thing to pop in my head as well when I saw your photo Shain. 

[shain]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

Who knew. Cheerios for grownups. The product I can get labelled Israeli couscous is solid balls looking more like overgrown regular couscous.

 

Balls and rice shaped ptitim are the original and the most common, but ring and star shaped ones are quite common. In recent years there are even more new shapes available (numbers, animals, letters, hearts, etc.).
It is considered somewhat of a children food, and is mostly served warm, often with fried onions, tomato sauce or baked along with chicken and vegetables. Google images for פתיתים (ptitim) will get you the idea of it.

It is not commonly served in salads, which seems to be the common preparation outside of Israel.

[scubadoo97]

Shain, I grew up eating keskesoon.  The little pastas in a tomato based sauce with chickpeas and some times some chuck roast 

[mm84321]

Pumpkin soup 

[rotuts]

@mm84321  

 

very stunning as usual

 

nice to see these days

 

[Anna N]

 

 I have been longing for a piece of pork shoulder for ages. This week I was finally able to get one and yesterday decided to cook it low and slow. I was not the least interested in making pulled pork but rather some roast pork.  And I almost had it. I began the  (small) roast in a cast iron skillet in the Breville oven with a temperature of 280°F. And cooked it for three hours. Then life threw a curveball. My daughter turned off the oven and an hour or two later returned to my house, wrapped the roast, pan and all, in some heavy duty foil and stuck it in the fridge.  When I returned three or four hours later I debated all the food safety regulations etc. etc. and opted to take my chances.  This from someone who always says "if in doubt throw it out".  It was a little late in the evening to wait many more hours so I put it into a preheated 350° oven for about an hour. It was by no means the succulent roast of pork that I had seen in my mind's eye. But it was adequate on a sandwich yesterday evening and with some gravy on it tonight. The accompaniments are puréed sweet potato cooked in the Instant Pot and some Delicata squash roasted in bacon fat.