Sunday, November 30, 2008
I need some input on a recipe idea that struck me today, I have not made this yet, but the idea just hit me while looking at some corned beef in the supermarket.Lately I have been trying to make homemade sausages using the sausage attachment to my kitchenaid. I tried some morrocan lamb sausages, but I way overspiced them, did some simpler lamb sausages that were good, but then put it away for a while.So today in the market I just happened to pass the corned beef, and I thought, "corned beef sausage?" I quickly realized that would not work, but then I thought, make corned beef hash, and stuff it into sausage casings, corned beef hash sausages. Think about it. Really think about it. Many people don't like hash because, well, it looks like it has been eaten already, and then brought back up. Yes, its a sign of the decline of our culture, that too few people appreciate the wonder that is corned beef hash. Now imagine it, corned beef, potatoes, onions, made into a good hash, then stuffed in sausage casings and fried again, a nice, neat hash package, with even more crispiness from the second frying. I am determined to try it.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Blogging Creation: The Birth of a Recipe
Okay, I am right in the middle of the process of invention, and I wanted to start recording whats going on, if only to have a record of my thoughts and predictions to look back at, when it is done, and see whether it came out as hoped, or whether there were unexpected turns.
I will boldly predict what I think is going to come of this; something like Coq-Au-Miso-Lemongrass, a braised chicken dish, possibly with some vegetables, similar to coq-au-vin, but in place of the wine, a spicy miso-lemongrass sauce, but the sauce will not just be a combination of asian condiments, it will be a slow-cooked rich sauce, with a base flavor of sweet, deeply caramalized shallots.
How did this come about? Its very very complicated, and thats why I want to record this, the story of how a recipe comes to me.
This all started last Thurday, when I stopped at Wegmons on the way to my psychiatrists office (a 50 mile drive, its the only time I am ever near a Wegmons) and among other impulses, grabbed a big package of red miso, something I have never eaten or cooked with, just because I like the crappy miso soup they throw at you before the sushi at my favorite sushi place.
Then this past Saturday, once again as a side trip, I stopped at a large asian market in Pleasantville to stock up on asian basics that are unavailable where I live, thai curries, a big block of frozen, minced lemongrass (this is worth a post on its own; lemongrass is sparse and wicked expensive where I live, this product I found was a frozen block of minced lemongrass and chilis, in plastic, you can open it up and chip off a chunk, and when it defrosts, it is as fresh and pungent and wonderful as if you just chopped a fresh stalk, and I now have a years supply of lemongrass that will not go stale or get old, for $2.99, about what I would pay for 2 stalks fresh), bean thread noodles, sririhuacha sauce, fish sauce (smiling baby, of course), and some cool things like baby bok-choy and tofu and kimchee. All ultra-cheap.
So thats how it began, as of last Saturday, I had lemongrass, and I had miso, both random, impulse purchases. But of course I know they are there and they nag at me, they call to me, "use me, use me, Prommie" I hear them begging from the pantry and the freezer.
But I have been busy, because I have been working on another major culinary project, I have been making sausage, something new for me, and completely fascinating once you get into it. I got the meat grinder and sausage maker attachments for my Kitchenaid mixer 2 weeks ago, and have spent the last two weekends making lamb sausage with varying degrees of success. The details of that are another story, but the sausage making definitely played a role here.
Over the weekend, while looking for ways to use up all the surplus of sausage I had made, I started looking through some of my huge food porn books, the really big, stupid "Culinaria" books, not really much good food information, but great photos, and I get almost all my ideas from photos, and I saw this stuffed chicken wing dish, you take the outer two segments of a chicken wing, arduously remove the two bones from the bigger segment, without breaking the skin, then stuff that segment with some kind of stuffing. This had me thinking I would use up some of my lamb sausage stuffing some chicken wings. Last night I bought the wings, and I also bought some skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinking I would stuff those too.
Well, when I got home, I found out that when they bone thighs, they filet them, they can't be stuffed unless you sew them back up again, and I was not in the mood for post-mortem chicken surgery, so I set the thighs aside and stuffed the wings.
Now there is a method of cooking I like to do with chicken, I suppose it is a kind of braising, but it involves adding very very little liquid, and it can make the skin-outside of the meat a very dark brown and though not "crisp," nevertheless something I will call "snappy." You start out browning the chicken in a pan over high heat in a small amount of fat, as you would at the start of, for example, coq au vin. Doesn't matter really if its big or small pieces of chicken, skin on or off, just season, flour is optional, and brown in a hot pan with a small amount of oil. When the chicken pieces are browned all over, you lower the heat, add aromatics, and cover, but add no liquid. The only moisture in the pan will be that given off by the chicken.
Cook very very slowly for an hour or so, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, and the aromatics (in the case of my wings, I just added shallots and garlic cloves) will caramalize to a dark brown and meld with the tiny bit of chicken essence, and this will cause the chicken to turn an even darker brown and infuse its concentrated flavor into the chicken.
So thats what I was doing to the wings, but they were wings, and by now I have an instinctive, unthinking urge to always make wings hot, so I also added some dried red chilis. And then I thought of the lemongrass, how it lightens and brightens everything, so before you could say "bam," there went some lemongrass into the pan. And then I thought, OK, some fish sauce, and just a bit of vinegar, because now I am thinking "hot and sour lemongrass braised stuffed chickenwings," which is what it turned out, though just so I don't forget, it was not hot enough and was not sour enough, so next time, more chilis, and right at the end, a better jolt of vinegar, and some black pepper, I want that hot and sour next time, I think it will be epic if I can make it come out tasting like what I am imagining tasting right now.
But okay, thats where I was in the evolution of the "Coq-au-miso-lemongrass" as of last night, I had these skinless boneless thighs, and I had already thought I must make coq-au-vin, thighs are really good for that, better than breasts.
But this morning, the miso was calling to me again. I am sitting at my desk, where I ostensibly work, and I started googling for miso recipes, and I quickly discover that red miso is often used in stews. And that its not unheard of to combine miso and lemongrass.
Thats all I needed to hear. My vision of tonight's creation hit me suddenly and all at once just before I began to write this.
I am going to use the same cooking method as last night, and produce that same rich base of deeply browned, caramalized shallot and garlic (it was fantastic with the lemongrass and chili, on the wings last night) and then, at the end, fortify it with the red miso, and add some stock, to make a rich, brown sauce. The accent will again be lemongrass, which I was suprised to learn can be very subtle and unobtrusive in a braise. And there will be mushrooms, baby bok choy, and maybe parsnips, that yellow would be beautiful with this, so would the sweetness. And some chilis, always the chilis.
I will boldly predict what I think is going to come of this; something like Coq-Au-Miso-Lemongrass, a braised chicken dish, possibly with some vegetables, similar to coq-au-vin, but in place of the wine, a spicy miso-lemongrass sauce, but the sauce will not just be a combination of asian condiments, it will be a slow-cooked rich sauce, with a base flavor of sweet, deeply caramalized shallots.
How did this come about? Its very very complicated, and thats why I want to record this, the story of how a recipe comes to me.
This all started last Thurday, when I stopped at Wegmons on the way to my psychiatrists office (a 50 mile drive, its the only time I am ever near a Wegmons) and among other impulses, grabbed a big package of red miso, something I have never eaten or cooked with, just because I like the crappy miso soup they throw at you before the sushi at my favorite sushi place.
Then this past Saturday, once again as a side trip, I stopped at a large asian market in Pleasantville to stock up on asian basics that are unavailable where I live, thai curries, a big block of frozen, minced lemongrass (this is worth a post on its own; lemongrass is sparse and wicked expensive where I live, this product I found was a frozen block of minced lemongrass and chilis, in plastic, you can open it up and chip off a chunk, and when it defrosts, it is as fresh and pungent and wonderful as if you just chopped a fresh stalk, and I now have a years supply of lemongrass that will not go stale or get old, for $2.99, about what I would pay for 2 stalks fresh), bean thread noodles, sririhuacha sauce, fish sauce (smiling baby, of course), and some cool things like baby bok-choy and tofu and kimchee. All ultra-cheap.
So thats how it began, as of last Saturday, I had lemongrass, and I had miso, both random, impulse purchases. But of course I know they are there and they nag at me, they call to me, "use me, use me, Prommie" I hear them begging from the pantry and the freezer.
But I have been busy, because I have been working on another major culinary project, I have been making sausage, something new for me, and completely fascinating once you get into it. I got the meat grinder and sausage maker attachments for my Kitchenaid mixer 2 weeks ago, and have spent the last two weekends making lamb sausage with varying degrees of success. The details of that are another story, but the sausage making definitely played a role here.
Over the weekend, while looking for ways to use up all the surplus of sausage I had made, I started looking through some of my huge food porn books, the really big, stupid "Culinaria" books, not really much good food information, but great photos, and I get almost all my ideas from photos, and I saw this stuffed chicken wing dish, you take the outer two segments of a chicken wing, arduously remove the two bones from the bigger segment, without breaking the skin, then stuff that segment with some kind of stuffing. This had me thinking I would use up some of my lamb sausage stuffing some chicken wings. Last night I bought the wings, and I also bought some skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinking I would stuff those too.
Well, when I got home, I found out that when they bone thighs, they filet them, they can't be stuffed unless you sew them back up again, and I was not in the mood for post-mortem chicken surgery, so I set the thighs aside and stuffed the wings.
Now there is a method of cooking I like to do with chicken, I suppose it is a kind of braising, but it involves adding very very little liquid, and it can make the skin-outside of the meat a very dark brown and though not "crisp," nevertheless something I will call "snappy." You start out browning the chicken in a pan over high heat in a small amount of fat, as you would at the start of, for example, coq au vin. Doesn't matter really if its big or small pieces of chicken, skin on or off, just season, flour is optional, and brown in a hot pan with a small amount of oil. When the chicken pieces are browned all over, you lower the heat, add aromatics, and cover, but add no liquid. The only moisture in the pan will be that given off by the chicken.
Cook very very slowly for an hour or so, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, and the aromatics (in the case of my wings, I just added shallots and garlic cloves) will caramalize to a dark brown and meld with the tiny bit of chicken essence, and this will cause the chicken to turn an even darker brown and infuse its concentrated flavor into the chicken.
So thats what I was doing to the wings, but they were wings, and by now I have an instinctive, unthinking urge to always make wings hot, so I also added some dried red chilis. And then I thought of the lemongrass, how it lightens and brightens everything, so before you could say "bam," there went some lemongrass into the pan. And then I thought, OK, some fish sauce, and just a bit of vinegar, because now I am thinking "hot and sour lemongrass braised stuffed chickenwings," which is what it turned out, though just so I don't forget, it was not hot enough and was not sour enough, so next time, more chilis, and right at the end, a better jolt of vinegar, and some black pepper, I want that hot and sour next time, I think it will be epic if I can make it come out tasting like what I am imagining tasting right now.
But okay, thats where I was in the evolution of the "Coq-au-miso-lemongrass" as of last night, I had these skinless boneless thighs, and I had already thought I must make coq-au-vin, thighs are really good for that, better than breasts.
But this morning, the miso was calling to me again. I am sitting at my desk, where I ostensibly work, and I started googling for miso recipes, and I quickly discover that red miso is often used in stews. And that its not unheard of to combine miso and lemongrass.
Thats all I needed to hear. My vision of tonight's creation hit me suddenly and all at once just before I began to write this.
I am going to use the same cooking method as last night, and produce that same rich base of deeply browned, caramalized shallot and garlic (it was fantastic with the lemongrass and chili, on the wings last night) and then, at the end, fortify it with the red miso, and add some stock, to make a rich, brown sauce. The accent will again be lemongrass, which I was suprised to learn can be very subtle and unobtrusive in a braise. And there will be mushrooms, baby bok choy, and maybe parsnips, that yellow would be beautiful with this, so would the sweetness. And some chilis, always the chilis.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Professionalism, AKA going through the motions even though the passion is long gone.
I have been suffering through a long dry spell. I have not come up with anything good for too long, it started before I stopped posting, I was reduced to posting rants about Emeril's bologna and my Hippo's love of lobster, without even caring enough to describe the lobster dish there before the Hippo. It just wasn't that great (I can now see in my mind, just before the famous food-fight scene in Animal House, Mandy tells Otter, "face it, you weren't that great;" he looks directly at the camera, points to himself, and mouths, with expression of disbelief "not that great?")
I am bored, I have lost my enthusiasm, nothing interests or excites me. It always happens to me this time of year, right about when the days get so short that its dark when I get home from my commute. Is is Seasonal Affect Disorder?
Or is it fear, fear and uncertainty over what is happening with the economy? Grocery prices seem to be rising daily, its not in the news, but its alarming, everything costs $4.00 now, a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread (OK, good bread). A can of Italian tomatoes costs $3.79, a pound of butter, $3.69, a single fucking lemon, 99 cents. Since when is a fucking lemon a dollar? The stock market is in a meltdown, my industry has just driven off a cliff, people are being laid off, my association is looking at a tough year. The value of my house, bought at the top of the market, is falling, my equity is disappearing. There is plenty to fear, even without the usual fears this time of year, of ghosts and witches and zombies and Palins.
Is it the election? The never-ending election that began in 2006 and now has only five days left, five days for Obama to lose his 5-point lead, thats only one point a day, it could happen, and there is Diebold and voter purging and intimidation and maybe still a November surprise. I am so obsessed, so keyed up, so twisted and expectant and dreading and hopeful, This time, this time for real, this one is critical, this one determines the future, will my son grow up and live in a totalitarian christian theocracy, in a climate of racist anti-intellectual paranoia and suspicion, or will he live in a prosperous free society that celebrates differences, values knowledge and allows opportunity for everyone? Sorry to sound so melodramatic, I am supposed to be the great Cynic, but this one, this election, this is the Big One, I am convinced.
I have filled the time the last two weeks with a few tentative steps towards a realistic, attainable goal, a way to make food my living. A Delicatessen. A european style, high end, gourmet deli and cafe and catering operation. Is it possible? Who knows. But instead of making up recipes, lately I have been making up menus.
Here is one:
Ray’s Place Deli (Provisional Working Name)
I am bored, I have lost my enthusiasm, nothing interests or excites me. It always happens to me this time of year, right about when the days get so short that its dark when I get home from my commute. Is is Seasonal Affect Disorder?
Or is it fear, fear and uncertainty over what is happening with the economy? Grocery prices seem to be rising daily, its not in the news, but its alarming, everything costs $4.00 now, a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread (OK, good bread). A can of Italian tomatoes costs $3.79, a pound of butter, $3.69, a single fucking lemon, 99 cents. Since when is a fucking lemon a dollar? The stock market is in a meltdown, my industry has just driven off a cliff, people are being laid off, my association is looking at a tough year. The value of my house, bought at the top of the market, is falling, my equity is disappearing. There is plenty to fear, even without the usual fears this time of year, of ghosts and witches and zombies and Palins.
Is it the election? The never-ending election that began in 2006 and now has only five days left, five days for Obama to lose his 5-point lead, thats only one point a day, it could happen, and there is Diebold and voter purging and intimidation and maybe still a November surprise. I am so obsessed, so keyed up, so twisted and expectant and dreading and hopeful, This time, this time for real, this one is critical, this one determines the future, will my son grow up and live in a totalitarian christian theocracy, in a climate of racist anti-intellectual paranoia and suspicion, or will he live in a prosperous free society that celebrates differences, values knowledge and allows opportunity for everyone? Sorry to sound so melodramatic, I am supposed to be the great Cynic, but this one, this election, this is the Big One, I am convinced.
I have filled the time the last two weeks with a few tentative steps towards a realistic, attainable goal, a way to make food my living. A Delicatessen. A european style, high end, gourmet deli and cafe and catering operation. Is it possible? Who knows. But instead of making up recipes, lately I have been making up menus.
Here is one:
Ray’s Place Deli (Provisional Working Name)
Meats
Barbecued baby back ribs
Smoked Entrée du Jour (Turkey, Chicken, Duck, Beef Brisket, Pork Shoulder)
Roast chicken
Roasted, Stuffed Poulet
Buffalo Game Hen
Stuffed Veal Breast Gallotine
Braised short ribs
Buffalo Wings
Roast Pork, Chipotle Bourbon Sauce
Satay of the Day (Chicken, pork, or shrimp)
Lamb Sausages
Stir fry of the day
Curry of the day
Ettoufe’
Lamb shanks
Osso Buco
Rissotto of the Day (saffron, mushroom, whatever is left over from the cooked meats the day before)
Lasagna of the Day
Sides
Sautéed Broccoli rabe
Asparagus with vinaigrette
Mixed Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
Roasted red peppers
Sautéed eggplant
Roasted Onions
Sauteed Mushrooms
Scalloped Potatoes
Basmati Pilaf
Israeli CousCous
Cous Cous (variations)
Pasta du Jour
Soups
Clam Chowders
Crab and Corn Chowder
Portuguese Sausage and Greens soup (I forgot the recipe)
Lentil Soup
Beef Barley and Kale
Cream of Mushroom
Dubliner Cheese and Asparagus
Chicken Noodle
Smoked Turkey and Rice Gumbo
Chili
Veal Stock
Salads
Larp – Thai Chicken Salad
Tuna Salad
Lentil Salad
Tabouli
Individual Antipasto Platter
Pasta Salad of the Day
Potato Salad
Cole Slaw
Mozzarella-Tomato
Isreali Cous Cous Pesto Salad
Dips, Spreads, Dressings
Pureed White Bean Dip
Hummus
Dubliner Cheese-Horseradish Dip
Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon
Spinach-Cheese Dip
Bruschetta
North African Bruschetta (pita, peppers, cumin)
Crab & artichoke Dip
Baba Ganoush
Cinco de Mayo
Ceasar Dressing
Blue Cheese Dressing
Sauces
Pesto Pasta
Roasted Tomato Puttanesca
Alfredo
Vodka
White Bean and Sausage
Sausage Bolognese
White Clam Sauce
Veloute
Bechamel
Specialty Sandwiches
Lamb Sausage Gyro
Thai chicken salad in Rice Flour Spring Roll Wrappers
Roast Pork and Broccoli rabe
Muffaletta
Hummus and Bean Sprout Pita, Feta, tomatoes, scallions
Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Roasted Peppers
Roasted Vegetable Burger with Chipotle Mayo
Lamb Sausage and Peppers
Chicken Pesto Wrap
BLT with Chipotle Mayo
Vietnamese French Bread Sandwiches
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Baked Bologna. There is no Fucking Justice.
The first time I ever discovered the Food Network, and the first time I ever saw Emeril, this is what I saw. Baked bologna, freaking troll (he has to live under a bridge, he has to, and I KNOW he has eaten billy goat gruff, you can just tell) took a whole fucking baloney and put it in the oven and baked it. Oh, he put brown sugar on it, and cut crosshatching on it to make it "classy" (I can just hear the short-fingered vulgarian every time I see the word "classy," Nojo, that one's for you), but Jesus Christ, its baked baloney. WTF? This guy is a celebrity chef, a star? Baked motherfucking Baloney?
Bam, my ass. Living proof that the race is not always to the swiftest, nor riches to the wise.
Baked fucking baloney.
Monday, October 13, 2008
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