Kicking back in Manitoulin

[Anna N]

 

 OK @Smithy (and others)  if you are ever tempted to buy one of these, please don't.  

 First of all the instructions for assembling and using it were on the underside of the cardboard packaging and I might have missed them completely!   They were in fact on the packaging which one normally just tosses into the garbage.   Even so without an engineering degree I found myself googling YouTube videos of how to assemble and use the damn thing.   Still not sure that I have it right. But one would think with that very attractive little container that one could grind directly into it. Put that thought aside.  The container will not attach to the main unit as long as it is fully assembled. And attempting to transfer the grated contents from the unit to the container resulted in a huge cleanup job.

 

 Since the thing said it would grate cheese and I needed cheese for my breakfast this morning I opted to try that before the garlic.  Yes it will grate cheese. A minuscule amount at a time.  And unless you have been smart enough to put down some parchment paper or other surface on which your cheese can land you will find yourself with cheese everywhere when you attempt to get it out of the unit.  Of course if you watch the YouTube videos things work perfectly and with no mess whatsoever. Harumph. 

 Epic fail on all accounts except the amusement value which is about all I expected anyway.

 

 Edited to add that also on my to do list is to make more of that wonderful slow roasted cherry tomato sauce with all the tomatoes that Kerry picked up yesterday.   I am off into the kitchen to begin the task. 

Edited July 31, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

12 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I thought they were quite adorable and I couldn't leave them behind. So no plans for them so far - shall see what Anna finds to do with them.

Don't you just love the way that Kerry's impulse buys  suddenly become my problem? 

[rotuts]

Im curious to hear a bit more on the RibCap experience

 

i vaguely recall  it.

 

what disappointed ?

 

doneness ?  Flavor ? tenderness ?

 

Id like to ask where you got it only w regard to  your expectations of a certain sort of dinning experience 

 

once I get 2 - 3 shelves of my Fx SV dispatched 

 

i hope to look for " Prime " neats at Costco  w gift cards as im not a member.

 

a high quality Rib Cap Roll was on my list  , as SirloinTips  as another flap meat whole.

 

of course Id like to try one of those DryBags for a whole chuck eye roll  .....

 

 

[Anna N]

 

I just cannot resist posting yet another picture of the tomatoes ready to go into the oven. You will notice the sparsity of the basil. Weare rapidly running out. 

 

 So the garlic genius isn't. Trust me there are so many ways to deal with garlic that are more efficient, less messy and definitely easier than this gadget.

 

But because it practically turned the garlic into a paste I decided to modify the slow roasted cherry tomato recipe somewhat. Given that those tomatoes are going to roast for three hours, and given my propensity for burning garlic, I opted to put the raw garlic over the tomatoes and just briefly sauté the onions. I suspect no one will notice any difference. 

 

 

[Anna N]

26 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Im curious to hear a bit more on the RibCap experience

 

i vaguely recall  it.

 

what disappointed ?

 

doneness ?  Flavor ? tenderness ?

 

Id like to ask where you got it only w regard to  your expectations of a certain sort of dinning experience 

 

once I get 2 - 3 shelves of my Fx SV dispatched 

 

i hope to look for " Prime " neats at Costco  w gift cards as im not a member.

 

a high quality Rib Cap Roll was on my list  , as SirloinTips  as another flap meat whole.

 

of course Id like to try one of those DryBags for a whole chuck eye roll  .....

 

 

The rib cap was procured from a very reputable butcher in Toronto (not Cumbrae's). It was intended to be used for an Eggfest.  Originally there were two of them but a test of one was very unsatisfactory and was never served at the Eggfest This is the second one which had been in Kerry's freezer.   It was tough and this is particularly difficult for me due to limited dentition. I don't know if it was bad product or if it was operator error. I would love to try again particularly with those rolled caps.  I have never seen them but then again I don't get much opportunity to look.  Perhaps Kerry and I can make it a challenge to find them when we get back down south.  

[rotuts]

@Anna N  

 

were these Caps  SV'd first ?

 

how did you cook them ?

 

from above

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Anna N  

 

were these Caps  SV'd first ?

 

how did you cook them ?

 

from above

 Yes they were sous vide first at 54.5°C for something in excess of four hours but done at different times.   They were chilled down, frozen and when retrieved from the freezer given extra time in the sous vide bath in the hopes of improving their tenderness.   I don't think it helped. 

[Kerry Beal]

Beef and barley and a bun - and real butter

 

 

 

[MelissaH]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

Don't you just love the way that Kerry's impulse buys  suddenly become my problem? 

That's what friends are for!

[Anna N]

 

 Had a cup of the smoky corn soup today for lunch and now I have a burning tongue and burned lips.   Damned microwave. 

[Anna N]

 Bear with me while I brag. (Or bare with me while I brag.  I'm no prude.) 

 

 

 I am obviously getting much too cheffy for my own good!   I think this is the first time in my life I've actually had the edges of a puff pastry tart rise.  

 

 This is a bacon, tomato and cheese "pizza tart". I consulted various sources and then did my own thing including brushing the edge of the pastry with bacon fat since that's what I had available.   And making tomato petals to make sure that there was not too much liquid to deal with. I mean really! Who makes tomato petals for a pizza?

 

 Not sure how it's going to taste. 

 

Pride cometh before a fall. But the rug rat is a non-critical consumer of my various  attempts. And she can always finish up with one of her mother's fabulous blueberry muffins. 

 

 

[rotuts]

"""   the edge of the pastry with bacon fat ""

 

brilliant !

 

I save bacon fat from Benton's bacon in a jar which I keep covered and frozen in the freezer of course !

[TicTac]

Nice Tart.

 

PC has a really good puff pastry in the freezer which we keep on hand for various applications.  Many tarts - but we also like to make pinwheels.

 

Take a slab of pastry & roll it out thin - put some toppings (our go-to is black olive paste, carm onions, parm, and thyme) and then roll everything into a log.  Slice 1/2 inch rolls and place them flat down on a tray and bake.  Puffy Pin wheels - great with a cocktail (or 3)

 

 

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Nice Tart.

 

PC has a really good puff pastry in the freezer which we keep on hand for various applications.  Many tarts - but we also like to make pinwheels.

 

Take a slab of pastry & roll it out thin - put some toppings (our go-to is black olive paste, carm onions, parm, and thyme) and then roll everything into a log.  Slice 1/2 inch rolls and place them flat down on a tray and bake.  Puffy Pin wheels - great with a cocktail (or 3)

 

 

Yep. PC pastry but it used to be 100% butter. Now not so much.  Very disappointing. I often use it though to make elephant ears which are just a sweet version of your puffy pinwheels. Easy, fast and usually impressive to one's audience. 

[TicTac]

Yes - I know those concoctions well.  We do many variations with the savory pinwheels, very versatile.

 

Interesting - I did not notice they changed their formulation.  It has been a while since I bought any, will have to take another look next time.  I hate margarine and all its cousins!

 

 

[Anna N]

 So while the garlic gadget was a bust I am quite enamored of this small knife.   I think it was sharper than any that I've found right out of the package.   Of course I needed another knife like I needed a hole in the head. 

 

 

 And I will most definitely keep the small container from the useless garlic gadget. 

[Kerry Beal]

I am fortunate that when I am in the city I can get all butter puff from  @Alleguede

[Anna N]

Just now, Kerry Beal said:

I am fortunate that when I am in the city I can get all butter puff from  @Alleguede

 Yep. Some people are even more spoiled than I am as if that were possible.

[kayb]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

"""   the edge of the pastry with bacon fat ""

 

brilliant !

 

I save bacon fat from Benton's bacon in a jar which I keep covered and frozen in the freezer of course !

 

I cannot imagine not having bacon fat. I keep a pint jar in the fridge at all times. If it (rarely) gets full, I move it to the freezer and start a new one. Handy to have one to just dip out of when you need it. There are things one just cannot cook without bacon fat.

 

[rotuts]

one can not have too many knives.

 

one just has to keep them sharp.

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

 

I cannot imagine not having bacon fat. I keep a pint jar in the fridge at all times. If it (rarely) gets full, I move it to the freezer and start a new one. Handy to have one to just dip out of when you need it. There are things one just cannot cook without bacon fat.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago I cooked up some off-brand bacon that was more fatty than I realized. As always I saved the fat but I was inspired to make potato pancakes to go with a dinner. Both my DW and I will only cook them in bacon fat. As a bonus I decided to make them in my Griswold #8 CI pan. Bacon fat to add to the seasoning of the pan? You betcha!

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 So while the garlic gadget was a bust I am quite enamored of this small knife.   I think it was sharper than any that I've found right out of the package.   Of course I needed another knife like I needed a hole in the head.

 

 They say one can never be too rich or too thin. I say one can never have too many knives.

[Kerry Beal]

 

 here is the leftovers of what I took this morning and forgot to take a picture of. I also took a large version of the summer tort made with red currents and blueberries

[lindag]

1 minute ago, Porthos said:

 

 They say one can never be too rich or too thin. I say one can never have too many knives.

 

SO true!

[Kerry Beal]

 

Zanadu (sic)