What's Cooking

[peter halle]

[member=4518]Mike Goetzke[/member] ,

If you brine your own or use one of the supermarket packages of stuff floating in liquid than looks grossly like what you would see surrounding your strawberries on a shortcake, make sure to take that meat out and soak in in plain water for a few hours to seep some salt out.  You will be cooking it without surrounding water to leach it out and this will achieve this for you.  Brining recipes are not designed commercially or otherwise for the absence of water to dilute the salty taste.

Sous vide will probably leave any fat veins, well lets just say gross, so go healthier and avoid those.

After cooking remember to place back in the fridge in the bag and let the meat reabsorb the juices pressed out.

I am waiting for the sales on pre-brined next week.  I cleaned out the freezer and tossed anything looking like the abominable snowman inside a plastic bag into the trash can to see if they would come alive so as to make room. [eek]

Peter

 

[Tinker]

[member=4518]Mike Goetzke[/member] ,

If you brine your own or use one of the supermarket packages of stuff floating in liquid than looks grossly like what you would see surrounding your strawberries on a shortcake, make sure to take that meat out and soak in in plain water for a few hours to seep some salt out.  You will be cooking it without surrounding water to leach it out and this will achieve this for you.  Brining recipes are not designed commercially or otherwise for the absence of water to dilute the salty taste.

Sous vide will probably leave any fat veins, well lets just say gross, so go healthier and avoid those.

After cooking remember to place back in the fridge in the bag and let the meat reabsorb the juices pressed out.

I am waiting for the sales on pre-brined next week.  I cleaned out the freezer and tossed anything looking like the abominable snowman inside a plastic bag into the trash can to see if they would come alive so as to make room. [eek]

Peter

My mom had a very large chest freezes for years.  I think she bought it around 1947 and had for over 50 years. I think she still had food from the first day and the darned thing, once it got full, the food never seemed to disappear more than 6 inches below the top.  Finally, I decided she had to get rid of the contents.  By that time, it could no longer be classified as food.

I got my son to come with his backhoe and together with one of my crew, we started pulling stuff out and into a wheelbarrow. While my son was digging a hole, Scott and I were wheeling chunks out for buriel. Almost all of the packages were ‘honey combed” they had been in the freezer so long. My mom was hovering close by as the two of us were prying out those honeycombs and throwing into the wheelbarrow. Mom would, every now and then, grab a package that she could still see the label on and “save” it.  Finally, as we got within a couple of feet from the bottom, we could no longer pry packages apart. They had been thru too many thaws from power loss. They had thawed and frozen together.  So, we just hooked a chain to the freezer, dragged it to the garage door and my son hooked on with his loader and we buried the entire freezer. I went to Sears and bought Mom a new freezer.  Definitely not the size chest we had buried, but a very small freezer, the size for a camper vehicle. By that time, Mom did not have too much time left. By the time we finally put her in a “home” she only had a few packages on the shelves.

Tinker

 

[GoingMyWay]

I missed a few cooking posts from the last couple of weeks.  I caught the flu and that really wiped me out for a while.

I attempted to make hush puppies with honey butter, that ended up being an epic fail (though the honey butter was good).  The hush puppies were under cooked in the middle and super greasy.  We also made pork katsu cutlets and some deep fried dwarf bananas that also ended up being greasy.

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We made corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day.  Normally the pre-brined corned beef are salty.  We bought these from Costco and they were not overly salty, as a result the broth ended up being a little on the bland side.

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Finally I made some sous vide lamb chops with couscous.

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[tjbnwi]

Great thread.

I'm away from my kitchen for almost a year now. I cook every night, just simple things

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member], fantastic meals, great preparation and presentation. I brine my own corned beef, you should try it some time.

I mentioned chocolate chip cookies in my first post in this thread. Cocoa, white chocolate chips cookies. The sheet on the left is baked to be chewy, the way my wife likes them, the sheet on the right is baked crispier, the way I like them.

Tom

 

[Cheese]

Well tonight's meal was sushi but last evening's meal was more note worthy.

Akaushi tenderloin and fresh asparagus with a tarragon sherry vinaigrette. The asparagus were small and tender and it was the perfect overture for starting a healthy spring cooking regimen.

In the upcoming weeks there will be among other spring/early summer options, fresh morels, fiddlehead ferns, young tender asparagus, vidalia onions, spring garlic and ramps.  Now's the time to anticipate your spring cooking adventure.

If I had thought a bit more about last evening's meal, I should have sliced the tenderloin a lot thinner and then wraped it around a small bunch of asparagus like a bow on a package. The presentation would have been a lot more fun and then drizzle some tarragon sherry vinaigrette on the package. Nice...oh well there's always next time.  [big grin]  That's how you learn...that's how you grow.

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[GoingMyWay]

Great thread.

I'm away from my kitchen for almost a year now. I cook every night, just simple things

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member], fantastic meals, great preparation and presentation. I brine my own corned beef, you should try it some time.

I mentioned chocolate chip cookies in my first post in this thread. Cocoa, white chocolate chips cookies. The sheet on the left is baked to be chewy, the way my wife likes them, the sheet on the right is baked crispier, the way I like them.

Tom

Thanks Tom.

Do you buy a plain brisket and then brine it yourself?  I've found that buying brisket is very expensive, especially compared to the price of ready made corned beef when it goes on sale around St. Patrick's Day.

Those cookies look great!  Do you have a recipe for them?  I was just thinking that macadamia nuts might be good in there (though I think they're pretty expensive).  Do you just take the chewy cookies out early so they remain chewy or do you cook them at a different temperature?  I prefer chewy cookies myself.  I really like the chewy white chocolate macadamia nut cookies from Subway.  Those cookies are what made me say macadamia nut cookies might be good in your chocolate cookies.

Well tonight's meal was sushi but last evening's meal was more note worthy.

Akaushi tenderloin and fresh asparagus with a tarragon sherry vinaigrette. The asparagus were small and tender and it was the perfect overture for starting a healthy spring cooking regimen.

In the upcoming weeks there will be among other spring/early summer options, fresh morels, fiddlehead ferns, young tender asparagus, vidalia onions, spring garlic and ramps.  Now's the time to anticipate your spring cooking adventure.

If I had thought a bit more about last evening's meal, I should have sliced the tenderloin a lot thinner and then wraped it around a small bunch of asparagus like a bow on a package. The presentation would have been a lot more fun and then drizzle some tarragon sherry vinaigrette on the package. Nice...oh well there's always next time.  [big grin]  That's how you learn...that's how you grow.

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Was the sushi homemade or from a restaurant?

This is the season for the thin/tender asparagus.

Thanks for the reminder about all the goodies we can find at the farmer's market!  The farmer's market that we always go to opens the last Saturday of April.  We're looking forward to its return.  Last year we bought ramps and morels.  Fiddleheads are harder to find around here.  Giant used to carry them, but the last couple of times I bought them at Wegmans.

Your tenderloin is perfectly cooked!  Is that just chopped up hard boiled egg on the asparagus?

 

[Cheese]

1. Was the sushi homemade or from a restaurant?

2. This is the season for the thin/tender asparagus.

3. Your tenderloin is perfectly cooked!  Is that just chopped up hard boiled egg on the asparagus?

1. I used to make my own sushi 30-40 years ago but that was more for the challenge and less for the flavor. After all, raw fish is just raw fish and whatever small thing I may do differently really doesn’t change the flavor in a major way. And then you still have sticky rice to cook and nori to prepare...then the vegetables need to be minced in 1/2 mm widths...no I learned my lesson.

2. Indeed it is...kind of caught me by surprise because I thought it was another couple of weeks away.

3. Thanks. Again, all that is done in a Le Creuset cast iron pan on a gas range. A nice crust on both sides and a check with the ThermoPop thermometer. At 135 degrees remove to a plate and cover with foil for 5 minutes. As it’s resting it will gain another 5 degrees and will suck up all the juices it previously lost.

I know it may sound goofy but that hard boiled egg has been pressed through a strainer and it really does improve the flavor of the asparagus. I’ve tried it 3 times with and 3 times without and the “with” gets my vote every time.

 

[GoingMyWay]

I was going to ask if the egg had been grated.  I should have realized it had been run through a strainer.  I forgot that's how my wife did the egg on her Korean potato salad.

Last night I grilled brats, wings, and pork chops.  I try to avoid reposting a meal that I've already posted, but I think this is the first time I've grilled pork chops.  This is also the first time cooking the wings whole.  I normally break them down, but I was feeling lazy and also wanted to see how the whole wing turned out.  It took longer to cook - about 30/35 minutes versus 15/20 minutes when cut up.

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[tjbnwi]

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member] ,

Plain brisket, brine it myself most often. I could not find a single corned beef to cook where I'm at.

Yes, I'll hunt down the recipe.

The cookies have walnuts or pecans in them. Forgot which I used in this batch.

To soften them, I bake about half the time (4 minutes), remove, let cool about 3 minutes, finish bake.

Tom

 

[GoingMyWay]

Oh interesting.  All the grocery stores around here have big displays of the corned beef in both point and flat for St. Patrick's Day.  How much do you pay for your brisket?

Walnuts sound good.

I've never heard of taking the tray out and letting them cool for a bit and then finish baking.  That sounds like a good idea.  Is that a common technique when making cookies?  I like to make chocolate chip cookies using the Pillsbury cookie dough log you buy in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.  For chewier cookies, I just take them out when they still look a little under cooked.  I really like to bake them until they're golden brown and fully cooked and then eat them right out of the oven still warm.

 

[Cheese]

Thursday's meal...Shrimp, Prosciutto and Lemon Pasta.

Delicious...sauteed prosciutto, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and shrimp served on angel hair pasta with a grating of Reggiano, some fresh basil and just a squeeze of lemon...nummy.

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[GoingMyWay]

That looks good.  I should try making it with regular spaghetti sometime.  I don't care much for thin pasta.

 

[GoingMyWay]

Last night my wife made Dolly Parton's Chicken and Dumplings.  My grandmother used to make a similar style of "noodle" chicken and dumplings.  I believe this style is the more traditional southern style of chicken and dumplings, but I prefer the biscuit style like I had previously posted (America's Test Kitchen recipe).

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[GoingMyWay]

Tonight's dinner was liver and onions with fried potatoes.

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[tjbnwi]

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member],

One of my favorites, especially with bacon.

Tom

 

[GoingMyWay]

Awesome! A lot of people really turn up their noses at the sound of liver. I've liked it from when I was a child surprisingly enough.

Lately we had been trying bacon and then cooking the liver in the bacon fat and garnishing with the crispy bacon. This time we were trying to be "healthier"and not cook in bacon fat and also eat the bacon.

 

[tjbnwi]

With Easter and possibly lamb around the corner here is the recipe for a lamb sauce that is beyond fantastic. It comes from moms cookbook.

The hand written note may be hard to read so here it is typed out;

Blend; 1/2 cup sugar, 1 table spoon corn starch, 1/2 tea spoon salt & sweet basil, 1 table spoon prepared mustard (plan old every day yellow mustard)

Add & stir well, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1 cup water

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Brush over over lamb every 10 minutes during the last 30 minutes of roasting time.

My edit;

I cook my lamb on a Weber Kettle using indirect heat. I do not brush/baste during cooking. I use the sauce as a dipping sauce.

For the record---I hate mint sauce.....

Tom

 

[tjbnwi]

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member],

The cookie recipe you asked for. The optional leavening will give you a little more rise. Had to type it out, moms cookbook is fading fast.

1 cup butter-softened (leave out about an hour)

2/3rds cup white sugar

2/3rds cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (high quality)

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Preheat oven to 375, bake for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes, move to cooling racks

Tom

 

[Tinker]

When I was living on my uncle's farm, when we butchered a calf, the liver was the first meal. I think it was still warm as it hit the pan. when a deer was brought home from a hunt, the liver was always cooked, almost, before it cooled off. My cousin always prepared it very tasty. I loved liver in those days. When I moved back with my mom, i lost my taste for liver. she always over cooked it to be very dry and tasteless ....... and greasy. And then, I got married. I regained my taste for liver. Even tho it was always "store bought," my wife does an excellent job. This is one guy who has never bugged his wife that "Mom always did it a better way." I still like liver.  And meat loaf. My wife cooks the best meat loaf I have ever eaten. Those are two meals that when i tell people my wife does the best job of cooking, I often get some negative looks and replies.
Tinker

 

[GoingMyWay]

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member],

The cookie recipe you asked for. The optional leavening will give you a little more rise. Had to type it out, moms cookbook is fading fast.

1 cup butter-softened (leave out about an hour)

2/3rds cup white sugar

2/3rds cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (high quality)

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Preheat oven to 375, bake for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes, move to cooling racks

Tom

Thanks Tom!  Thanks for finding the recipe, typing it up, and sharing!  I've typed up some of my grandparents old recipes to make sure they are saved electronically so the recipe isn't lost forever.  Thanks to [member=44099]Cheese[/member], I use the Paprika App to store and manage most of my recipes (I'm still have a bunch of recipes to type up and input).

When I was living on my uncle's farm, when we butchered a calf, the liver was the first meal. I think it was still warm as it hit the pan. when a deer was brought home from a hunt, the liver was always cooked, almost, before it cooled off. My cousin always prepared it very tasty. I loved liver in those days. When I moved back with my mom, i lost my taste for liver. she always over cooked it to be very dry and tasteless ....... and greasy. And then, I got married. I regained my taste for liver. Even tho it was always "store bought," my wife does an excellent job. This is one guy who has never bugged his wife that "Mom always did it a better way." I still like liver.  And meat loaf. My wife cooks the best meat loaf I have ever eaten. Those are two meals that when i tell people my wife does the best job of cooking, I often get some negative looks and replies.
Tinker

I forgot to mention that we always use calves liver when making liver and onions.  It's much more tender than beef liver.

Does your wife have a secret recipe for the meatloaf?  I always liked my grandmother's meatloaf because of its simplicity.  It was basically ground beef, bread crumbs, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper, and 1 egg.  Ironically I believe the recipe came from a microwave oven cookbook they had.  The meatloaf was cooked in a glass pyrex loaf pan in the microwave.  I've tried to replicate the recipe/cooking, but it hasn't quite come out the same.  I don't remember the microwave power setting or cook time.  Though I wanna say it was like 30 minutes at 50% power.  The ends always came out rather overcooked, which was my grandmother's favorite part.  The leftovers made great meatloaf sandwiches the next day!