Perpetual "What's for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Today" thread

[MidasKnight]

OMG!! clicking on compatibility view just erased by entire post!!!

ARGH!!!

Anyway, I'll abbreviate.

I browned a pork shoulder (with skin on) and then slow cooked it in the crockpot with chicken broth. Used the pork for Po' Boy sandwiches for SuperBowl (in honor of New Orleans). Saved the stock for coddle.

Browned Jimmy Dean's Sage sausage and sliced and quartered canadian bacon. Quartered and sliced white potatoes 1/4" thick. Added browned sausage, canadian bacon and sliced potatoes to crock pot. Added a generous bundle of fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary and sage tied together with a sewing thread) and covered with pork infused chicken stock and crockpotted for 2 hours (with a touch of salt and as much fresh ground mixed peppercorns as you think you'd like).

After 2 hours, I add 1 chopped (or diced, depends on your personal preference) white onion. 30 minutes later I add 1/2 of a cabbage chopped to whatever size you like.

1 hour later (or whenever the cabbage is cooked to your liking) I remove the 'coddle' and serve with bread. I have used regular dinner rolls or sourdough. I haven't been really happy with either. They say the Irish traditionally use soda bread but I'm not sure what that is.

The entire family likes it enough to not complain and many actually enjoy it. I add more freshly ground pepper to mine.

Lara says it is man food. I supposed I should drain the sausage ... but hey, I like the extra goop.

I think it is perfect for wintertime.

[Darb]

Looks very tasty. I'd probably be tempted to experiment with some Italian-style Sweet Fennel Sausage (and definitely drain off the extra fat), and perhaps a splash of white wine or lager beer.

Irish Soda bread is very crumbly, and may or may not be sweet (depending on which tradition you follow) ... either way, I don't picture it going with that recipe. I'd stick with the bread you're using, for optimal mop & scoop action.

p.s. I've seen, and had, a Japanese analog of that recipe, in which daikon radish (chunked large and simmered until tender) replaces the potato, and long-simmered pork stomach (yes, you read that correctly) replaces the sausage and ham. The dish is then finished with either a little dab of hot asian mustard, or a dab of miso, and some togarashi (sp?) spice. I can easily picture a columbian version featuring pork belly and yucca.

[MidasKnight]

I forgot, I added 12 oz of a darkish (but not extremely hoppy) ale when I added the cabbage

[Darb]

Yesturday I did a pumpkin pie. Aside from doing my own pie crust and spice blend, the recipe was straight off the back of the can.

Today I did a medium sized seafood casserole, which should last a few days.





It's basically mixed diced seafood (tilapia, salmon, shrimp & bay scallops), onions, peas, parsley, seasonings, with ground saltines and a little ground plain oats for starch/thickener, some extra sharp yellow NY chedder and some sweet butter for flavor & fat (in that order), and the liquid is a mix of evaporated milk and some of the stock I made a few days back. I basically took a 1920's recipe, and completely reworked it to improve the flavor and texture, and reduce the excessive butter a bit.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

All these things look and/or sound very appetising. But it's cooking, eh? Not my cup o' tea. I prefer working with ingredients in the raw (sleeping too).
I didn't like my Gazpacho Cabo Verde and I donated it to the sewer denizens (Isn't the water closet a nifty invention?).
So here's something different.

Quite some years ago, my wife and I were waiting for a table and sitting at the bar of a restaurant in Valencia, Spain. Her other bar-neighbour was having some appetiser with his drink. My wife remarked (in Spanish) about its delicious looks and the Spaniard offered her a taste of it. My wife, immediately enthusiastic about it, ordered a ration of this tapa for both of us and another drink (his choice) for this convivial bar-neighbour.
Upon my asking, the bartender told me the name of the tapa. Back home, I've tried to emulate the restaurant's recipe. I've since googled for it and discovered several different names and recipes but none like in the Valencian restaurant, so I chose a generic name for my concoction.

Here's my "Catalunian Garlish" (garnish and relish) for Pan Estilo Catalan (Bread Catalunian Style) (though the morning after, my wife called it Fartalunian style):

Basic Ingredients: (for +/- 0.5 liter):
+/- 500 g tomatoes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1/2 freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
70 g tomato purée (to enhance the colour and to slightly bind)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
toasted bread (actually any bread, toasted or not, or crackers will do)

Optional Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp finely chopped basil
1 tsp oregano powder
1/2 tbsp finely chopped chives
1/2 tbsp grated onion
1/2 tsp tabasco

Preparation:
press the tomatoes through an orange juicer (for a more refined result, unseed the tomatoes first, but the tomato skin is sowieso caught by the juicer's riddle if you keep it facing up)

crush the garlic through a garlic press
add olive oil
add lime juice and wine vinagar
add salt & pepper
add any or all optional ingredients

add tomato purée
whip briskly

toast slices of bread just before serving

Enjoyment: Now this is really delicious!
Here with toasted French bread, Rosette de Lyon and Tiroler Schinkenspeck.

Spread the garlish on the toast and eat immediately as is or to accompany
Jamon Serrano or
Pata Negra,
Boccerones,
Chorizo,
Chirlas a la Marinera,
Rosette de Lyon,
Salame Sopresa (Italian), very similar to Rosette de Lyon
Spianata Romana,
Prosciutto di Parma,
Mortadella,
Gorgonzola,
Appenzeller,
Flakes of Parmesan,
Bouillabaisse,
Tiroler Schinkenspeck,
Schwarzwaldschinken,
Noix d'Ardennes,
Zarzuela
or whatever you can think of.

Storage:
In a well sealing recipient you can 'shake-before-use' and in the fridge, this garlish keeps for a week or more.

[Darb]

That looks delicious.

I do an Italian version of that (Bruschetta), which is similar, yet different. The Italian incarnation omits the oregano and chives, and just uses chiffonade of basil; the texture is slightly thicker in that it usually uses concasse of tomatoes, or ones that deseeded and then finely diced (skin-on), as well as a slightly more generous amount of shallot in place of the small amount of onion; and the red vinegar and lime are replaced with just a few drops of good balsamic vinegar (just enough for a subtle complex undertone). Those who are hoity toity can add a drop or two of caper brine or an infused oil. The mixture is allowed to rest for at least 1-2 hours (or overnight) in the fridge, so that the flavors marry and the texture thickens into a fresh salsa-like consistency, and then any excess juice is decanted off, so that it is scoopable, rather than pourable (so that it doesn't sog the garlic crostini it's typically served with). It is then re-dressed with a little more CPEVO, adjusted for salt, fluffed a bit (to disperse the oil throughout), and served with the aforementioned crostini.

p.s. My wife, who has trouble with olive oil & garlic, would likely agree with your wife's "Fartalunan" moniker.

[Darb]

More Tomato Tips:

* Because the season is so short for good quality late-summer tomatoes, you can make a lower quality knock-off of the bruscetta salsa recipe in the off season by using grape or campari tomatoes - it won't be as good, but it will be more flavorful than using mealy flavorless off-season large tomatoes of the sort typically carried year-round in many supermarkets.

* Leftover bruschetta-style salsa is also good over fresh pasta that's been dressed with a sauce like the one a friend taught me 20 years ago (this one is enough for 1 lb of thin spagetti):

Balsamic-Dijon Pasta Sauce
½ cup Dijon Mustard w/White Wine, Whole Seed (this is the base flavor/texture)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard w/White Wine, Smooth (minor tweak, for creaminess)
¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar, high quality (aged, but not the thick/sweet variety)
¼ cup Very warm Pasta Water (if you like it rich, substitute additional extra olive oil)
2+ tbs Olive Oil, CPEV (highest quality)
2 lg Garlic Cloves, freshly crushed & minced fine

Cook the pasta, prepare sauce, drain but do not rinse pasta, toss hot pasta with the sauce, plus a generous amount of grated romano cheese, then top with the leftover bruschetta salsa (or freshly diced high-quality tomatoes).

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

... Balsamic-Dijon Pasta Sauce ...

Hmm, cooking Capellini (= thin spaghetti) is within my scope.

I'll try yours for size as soon as I polish off my stock of frozen Capellini alla Bolognese.

[Darb]

I normally use fresh tomatoes (best I can get) in that pasta dish instead of bruschetta salsa ... I only mentioned the latter as a way of using it up if you had surplus.

Also, as with all sauce recipes, adjust whatever you desire to taste .

Last, the pasta sauce is served neither cold nor hot, but rather lukewarm over hot pasta ... like a warm pasta salad. Its different, and many of my friends find the combo of mustard, balsamic, garlic and oil with romano to be a revelation. Easy and fast too.

[Darb]

Dinner tonite will be calves liver with bacon and onions, and some creamed spinach. Havent had good liver in a few years so this should be a treat.

[Darb]

Breakfast was homemade blueberry corn muffins, yogurt and a plaintain.

Lunch was tuna salad on a toasted pumpkin seed chiabatta rolls.

[Darb]

Dinner tonite was a batch of fried rice that helped purge out a lot of odds and ends from the fridge ... parsley stems, a tired onion, scallions that needed using, a lump of ginger starting to shrivel, some chopped bean sprouts, the tail end of a batch of some homemade faux eggs, a chunk of sopressatta, a jalepeno, leftover basmati rice, a palmful of shredded cheese, a small jar of hulled sunflower seeds starting to smell a bit past peak, etc.

Side dish was the rest of the bean sprouts, dressed with rice vinegar, thai fish sauce, a dash of simple syrup, and dark sesame oil.

Havent finished making the pig stomach stew yet ... it's still sitting in the fridge, set in a semi-firm gel'd stock, awaiting further simmering, reduction, straining & flavor tweaking.

[Darb]

Dinner tonite is a cauliflour curry in a cocconut cayenne sauce, with rice and a side of sauteed spinach.

[Darb]

Too tired to cook tonite, so I just heated a small bowl of leftover rice, and dumped in a small can of Pica Pica, some CPEVO, and some Sriracha.

Tomorrow, if energy levels permit, I'll make some pork-scallop dumplings.

[Darb]

Managed to use up a pair of recently expired cans of pink and sockeye salmon by making burgers out of them. Basically you squeeze out all the liquid (reserve for other use if you're frugal), flaking the meat, adding minced onions, scallions, parsley, grated fresh ginger, ground plain dry rolled oats (simply buzz them in the food processor), dark sesame oil, mayonnaise, seasonings, a dash of sweet chili sauce, and a few beaten eggs. Chill several hours to firm up, then using wet hands, form into pairs of patties on lubricated strips of foil. Heat a large 15x18" flat top cast iron griddle until beginning to smoke, wipe with an veg oil rag, slap on the patties, and cook undisturbed over high heat for 5 mins per side until crispy brown, turn over, brown the other side, then serve over rice with a little remoulade.

Side was a bowl of dressed bean sprouts and baby spinach.

[voralfred]

(...) the tail end of a batch of some homemade faux eggs, (...)

I found a recipe for something called "faux eggs" on Google, but it contained chocolate and passionfruit puree:
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Desse ... shid=10039
It did not look like it would fit wit the remainder of the ingredients of your fired rice. I know you like original, even extreme cuisine, but still...

[Darb]

Faux Eggs are a commercial product of eggwhites mixed with a yolk substitute.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_Beaters

The slang for them is fake eggs, despite the fact that they're largely real eggs.

For my homemade version, I buy egg whites cheaply in bulk, and then add yolks to it, but only 1/3 to 1/4 the number present in whole beaten eggs.

[Darb]

Dinner last night was homemade pizza, topped with a 3 cheese blend, and some diced cherry tomatoes.

For dinner tonite, we broke out the stand mixer earlier today, and made two batches of dough. The first was to restock our freezer with more pizza dough, and the second was for a batch of my chinese style pork-scallop dumplings, most of which went into the freezer, but some of which got boiled and pan fried right away.

For dinner tomorrow, I'll probably toss a brisket in the slow cooker.

[Darb]

Tomorrow, I'm making both corned beef brisket (Irish-American style, which my wife grew up with), and a small regular brisket done in the style I was raised in. I'll take some of the leftovers to make up a care package for one of the elderly members of my fraternal society who lives not far away.

Cooking a brisket that's already 'corned' is easy - you just add enough water to cover, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on lowest heat for 3+ hours or until fork tender (add an extra 1 hour if using a crock pot), adding potatoes, cabbage and root veg of choice during the last 40 minutes.

My parent's brisket (not corned) was also easy - they took a large fat-on brisket half, double wrapped it in a large foil pouch with a packet of lipton onion soup mix and 1 fl oz of water, placed it in a preheated cast iron skillet, and put the skillet in a med oven for 3+ hours until it was fork tender, throwing forked potatoes into the oven for the last 90 mins ... and then serve the brisket along with the potatoes au jus.

I was never big on soup mix, so I'll probably sear the bottom of the brisket (in a seperate pan) before wrapping it, then deglaze with some onions and a splash of wine, cook that until golden, and proceed from there.

[MidasKnight]

I just took a 20 lb turkey out of the freezer and put it into the fridge. I plan on brining it Saturday night and cooking it Sunday.

Any tips or suggestions? I'm toying with the idea of using wine or apple juice in the brine (as opposed to just the salty broth plus herbs).

Also, I will be making a sausage stuffing (not in the bird) and was wondering if it was worth it to shove a quartered onion into the bird while it cooked.

[Darb]

Poultry always roasts better if the stuffing is baked seperately.

I generally leave the cavity empty, except for salt, herbs, and sometimes a lemon wedge or two ... not enough to impede airflow or interfere with bacteria-laden juices draining properly into the bottom of the pan, and getting properly caramelized & reduced. A lone onion should be fine.

The brines sound great ... just be careful to avoid adding either too much acidity (which can ceviche meat if soaked too long) or sugar (which can result in overbrowning if used to excess).

[gpackin]

Poultry always roasts better if the stuffing is baked seperately.

And I hear it's safer too, though I've never become sick from eating stuffing that was cooked in the bird.

As far as tips, I like to lay a few strips of bacon across the turkey when cooking it.

[Darb]

Poultry always roasts better if the stuffing is baked seperately.

And I hear it's safer too, though I've never become sick from eating stuffing that was cooked in the bird.

As far as tips, I like to lay a few strips of bacon across the turkey when cooking it.

It's particular important to cook the stuffing seperately when deliberately flouting the FDA's insanely over-protective doneness charts and the general publics tendency to overcook everything into dry oblivion. Cooking it seperately eliminates the need to overcook the breast in order to get the stuffing to a safe temperature.

The other advantage of stuffing cooked sperately is that not only can you put a nice crust on the top, but it also cooks faster (as does the bird), more safely, and you can control the moisture content ... otherwise it tends to absorb too much juice and fat from the turkey, and it turns into a sloppy greasy mess. That, plus the bird cant hold enough stuffing anyway, and making it seperately enables you to make much greater quantities. The trick to avoid a corresponding loss of flavor is to season the stuffing with a homemade brown poulty stock.

[Darb]

Tomorrow is Irish day for my fraternal society, so I threw 18 lbs of corned beef into a pair of slow cookers, and tomorrow I'll do 4 cabbages and a dozen lbs of new yukon gold potatoes, and 3 loaves of soda bread, before a friend of mine stops by to pick it up. Most will get served at the monthly meeting, and the leftovers will go to some needy brothers.

Here's the big slab, which I had to supplement with a smaller 3 1/2 lb point cut:

[Darb]

More info on that big brisket ... normally, you only see small "flat" and "point" cuts of corned beef brisket in most american supermarkets, typically in the range of 3 - 4 1/2 lbs. Large whole briskets like this one (typically 13-20 lbs) are usually only sold to restaurants, or are available by special request through butchers.

A friend of mine who owns 5 bars cooked 250 lbs of corned beef last night ... 50 lbs per bar, all served as FREE bar food.