What did I cook this weekend.....

Those look great!

 

Step son's wedding is over. Everything went great. House guests and my youngest daughter and her husband were here afterwards for a late dinner. Filet mignon, grilled asparagus, and Strip House Potatoes.
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White veggie lasagna.

 

Veggie korma
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I managed to make an apple danish with home made pastry (super easy and tasty), fajitas, and 36 jars of peach preserves - half straight peach and half ginger peach.

 

Had a theory. Went with the theory.

Browned a small pork loin and put it in the crock pot. Added some fresh tomatillos and jalepenos that I had roasted and a chopped onion. Added a little adobo, a boullion cube and some water.

Cleaned the entire apartment and did all the laundry.

Made some steamed white rice and made a little rice bed on the plate, and wound up literally using a ladle to spoon the pork over the rice.

Not too bad for a change, but could use a little sprucing up I think...

 

Sounds delish! If I were sprucing, I would probably add cumin and swap out loin for country style ribs (which actually are from the pork shoulder). Loin is very lean, and I think the shoulder cuts would be juicier...but you would definitely have to skim some fat.

 

Oooooooh did they come with a side of apple sauce?

 

No. I do not like apple sauce with my potato pancakes.

 

Grocery store had a big sale on whole beef tenderloins so, at SWMBO's urging, I picked one up. I cut off the skinny end, and we'll use that for steak sandwiches tomorrow.

I grilled the fat end last night and it was beautiful. Eventually.

I thought it would be like a pork tenderloin where it's one solid piece. When I was trimming it I thought "maybe I should tie this like a roast" but decided against it. It was the most unwieldy thing I have ever placed on the grill. It was such a pain in the ass that I pulled it off the grill and tied it. Thankfully I can tie a roast fast. It was much easier to handle after that. Learned something.

 

Im also thinking more tomatillos and some cilantro... Cumin is a great idea... I used loin because its what I had on hand (broke down a big loin on sale into 6 portions I gots loin for days).

Oh I threw some garlic cloves in there too btw... they were so soft you didnt mind getting a whole clove in your mouth when all was said and tone.

 

Needs some citrus. A bit of orange juice and lime juice.

Also Mexican oregano and some ancho chili powder.

After it's all cooked, scoop out some of the tomatillos, chilies, onion and garlic, and blend together with some of the pork-infused liquid for a fabulous salsa verde!

 

Made some beer flavored ice cream (Eviil Twin Ashtray Heart flavored to be exact) this weekend, found a recipe & couldn't resist.

Turned out amazing!!!

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Love that that beer is a shoutout to Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

 

Mmm...can't go wrong roasting or slow cooking whole garlic cloves! I see AZ is suggesting citrus, oregano and chili powder. I was thinking oregano, too. I know tomatillos are kind of citrusy tasting, so I didn't go there, but he may be right. The orange and lime combination to mimic the Mexican sour orange sounds good. I didn't include chili powder, because I thought you had enough going on in that department. But, a little more heat and a bit more complexity might not hurt, in the right amount. Good suggestions and we need photos, BTW.

 

recipe please...

 

from: America's test kitchen



Makes about 1 quart

This recipe is best made with a malty beer that is 8–11% ABV. Avoid overly hoppy beers since hops become bitter once cooked. Make sure to cook the custard slowly in step 3 so that it thickens properly, which will ensure a creamy, rich-tasting ice cream. Serve with homemade sugar cones.

12 ounces 8-11% ABV beer
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 large yolks
2 cups heavy cream

1. Pour beer into liquid measuring cup. Add 5 ounces beer to 8-inch skillet and bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer until beer is reduced by half, about 10 minutes, lowering heat as necessary to avoid creating too much foam. Return reduced beer to measuring cup with remaining 7 ounces beer, add vanilla, and stir to combine.

2. Place fine-mesh strainer over shallow medium bowl. Prepare ice bath in large bowl.

3. Whisk together sugar, salt, and egg yolks in large saucepan until smooth. Whisk in cream and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture thickens to custardy consistency and registers 180 degrees, about 10 minutes (custard should coat back of spoon enough that dragging your finger through custard on spoon’s back leaves visible trail).

4. Immediately pour mixture through strainer set over shallow bowl, whisk in beer mixture, and set in ice bath. Whisk occasionally until custard reaches room temperature, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

5. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to glass or plastic container, press plastic wrap or waxed paper against surface of ice cream, and cover with tight-fitting lid. Freeze until firm, at least 8 hours and preferably 24 hours. Ice cream will keep, frozen, up to 5 days.

 

Thanks. How was it... was it icy at all?

 

No surprisingly it wasn't icy, I was worried it would be. When I took it out of the ice cream maker it was very soupy I think the alcohol kept it from freezing in the machine, plus I have a cheap ice cream maker, but after 24 hours in the freezer it froze to a nice scoopable consistency!

 

Great, now I need an ice cream maker.

 

The scoop

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....

 

Be careful I think I found a new hobby! Ice cream & beer, maybe my hobby should just be getting fat, that seems to be what I'm working towards

 

Pork Vindaloo and naan, came out crazy good! View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1442276275.386359.jpg

 

Looks fabulous!

I love Vindaloo and most every other Goan recipe! Out of the 20 or so recipes I have played with I have settled on one that has a thick sauce with a lot of tamarind in it and way too many chilis

 

I made some spicy-garlic beef & broccoli tonight. No action shots, but here are the leftovers:



Some snow peas, bell pepper, onion, and red pepper flakes go with the broccoli & sirloin. I added a drizzle of toasted sesame oil at the end. It was a new recipe, and it tasted like a restaurant dish, but it wasn't spicy nor garlic-y enough for me, nor was there enough sauce for my tastes. Easy enough to remedy that, though. I served it over Jasmine rice ('cos it was on sale and Basmati wasn't) and was happy with it.

 

Nuked a beer brat last night and then ate the leftover tater tots my daughter heated up.

I was too tired to do anything more.

However, we picked a few apples last weekend and I plan to cook a few pies with them. If they turn out nice I might donate them to the silent auction this weekend for the Band Boosters. I'mma try to make them all fancy.

 

I took the skinny end of a beef tenderloin and sliced it wafer thin across the grain, then quickly cooked it in a skillet with peppers and onions. (I grilled the other end of the tenderloin on Sunday.) Added some Provolone and put it all on brat buns that I had lightly toasted under the broiler.

SWMBO immediately asked "So how can we get another skinny end of a tenderloin so we can do that again?"

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Your neck of the mitten is firmly entrenched in Polish/German sausage culture, is it not?

 

Wafer thin?
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Heh heh! We were pretty stuffed.

 

Just riffing with what I had around. Put together some white beans cooked with kombu, tomato, zuchini, and rice. Seasoned with cilantro, a cinnamon stick, lemongrass, and thyme. Given a hefty heat kick from Blair´s Jersey Death. Served with simple cilantro & chili flatbreads I made.
Tasty since fresh, light, and deep, but man does it burn (I am guessing not just once...).

 

Btw, great tip for all of you here: Cook your beans with a strip of kombu, a japanese sea-weed used to bring umami flavor to broths. It breaks down something in the beans and reduces your methan footprint by a quite noticable amount. Try it!

 

Found an amazing package of pork belly at Costco!! These are just two strips out of six. Doing a very simple rub of salt, pepper, smoked paprika and letting sit for a day. Then going to pan sear to render the fat layer, then into 300F oven to cook for a while.

Thinking might then slice into squares for like crackers and cheese dinner?

 

I found a tiny pork tenderloin today, so I bought it, sliced it into 3/4" rounds, dunked it into buttermilk, then seasoned flour & fried it up. Made buttermilk biscuits, and cleared out some leftovers from the fridge.

Leftovers shot again:

 

Got a bushel of plum tomatoes from a local farm stand... Sauce in progress.

 

The other day I fired up the grill for some smoked hoisin chicken, bacon wrapped scallops, smoke roasted yukon gold taters & a sort of (for lack of a better name) "grilled eggplant parmesan;" which is basically just sliced eggplant with herbs & shredded parmesan on top, then when they're just about done, top with a slice of fresh tomato & more herbs & parmesan. Pics are in the same order as the aforementioned food, plus an extra pic of the eggplant & finally the plated food.
Regards, GF.

 

You had me with the scallops, but it all looks fantastic! Very well done!

 

I smoked a rack of ribs yesterday for the missus and me and the GOP debate. Tabbouleh and melon too.

 

Ugh. You just ruined my appetite...