What's cooking? part 4

plongeuse, maybe.

Dammit I wanted to make gooseberry raised pies today, but no gooseberries to be found. Used to have them in the garden when I was growing up and they make the best puddings and jams. So roast lamb and flageolet beans for main, and then, I don't know, perhaps some pears or something for after, no, wait, ginger ice cream. Maybe.

So nearly went for steak and kidney pudding, but it's still a little early in the year for it.

those macaroons are GORGEOUS!

i'm attempting massaman curry tonight again hoping i can come out with something i like this time. trying letting the beef marinate in coconut milk and ginger for about an hour, then simmering about 20 minutes or so, before i go ahead with the usual fry off the paste and all that.

i had an idea at work today for something else to do with it, too, but i forgot now that i'm home so it'll probably not be that great again.

sounds awesome!

i have been having fun with rose petal preserves

yeah i'm a little ways into the simmering stage now and that alone is tasting kinda great (oh i lied, in addition to the coconut milk/ginger i chopped up about four thai red chiles + fish sauce for the marinade)

i have never heard of rose petal preserves!

here's how i have been eating them:

1) on a cracker (goat chz, rose preserves, thinly sliced apple)
2) in a crepe (fig + preserves)

later this week i plan on making some puff pastry turnovers with it, but i'm not sure if i want to do the apple/cheese combo or stick with dessert fig.

if you like flowery-flavored foods, rose petal preserves are AMAZING. bet they would be good heated and poured over vanilla ice cream or sthg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3555/3281853303_31926e7103.jpg

ummmm emergency tips for ACCIDENTLY DOUBLED THE CARDAMOM?

halp

(wow i totally misspelled unicycle)

pods - just take one out
seeds - deal with it? (but i love cardamom)

ground

the cardomom is a bit overpowering but it's def edible :\

A fall harvest meal that's starting to be a tradition every year when I get the first picking of mustard greens from my parents' garden -- sweet potatoes, mustard, blackeyed peas, cornbread. I had half a head of cabbage in the fridge that needed to get used up so I barely sauteed/steamed it as well. Sometimes I think I like fall vegetables better than spring ones, but next year when it's time for sweet peas and asparagus I'll change my tune. Oh yeah, the greens and peas had pepper sauce I made from my tabasco and 5-color chilies.

I'm salivating at the mere thought of mustard greens and pepper sauce.

I say this every year, but mustard >>>>>>>>>>>>> turnip/collard.

mustard greens are a dream!

that sounds amazingly delicious.

Cold weather means it's LET'S MAKE BEEF STOCK day.

same lesson; different chile

lesson not quite so harsh today

Pumpkin soup with cumin and coriander seeds and crumbled up dried chillies. Very very nice.

for dinner:
rice with chorizo, peas, corn, seasonings
grilled chicken thighs seasoned with chile pulla and guajillo, garlic, salt, sazon goya
arugula salad with pico de gallo
tons of leftovers for lunch tomorrow

for dessert:
monkey bread (for us)
banana bread (for students when they take their midterms tomorrow)

i made a MESS of the kitchen, but had a delicious malbec in return
can't wait for the baked goods to be done

just made a chicken/veggie tikka masala
also made a cucumber salad to take to work for the week

i've not been very creative lately. too busy :( miss pnw produce!!

don't feel bad, just keep cookin

i used yogurt instead of coconut milk and it was going really well, then separated.
everything is separating on me lately!
i am really having terrible luck with anything dairy sauce related!

Roasted a chicken last night and made a fantastic pan of cornbread with whipped honey butter. Apple crisp for dessert (made from our backyard apples!) w/ sour cream sweetened with a little brown sugar. Today, I picked and peeled about 3 pecks of apples and am attempting to make apple butter in my slow cooker. Smells so good right now.

Bought a duck, made some fresh curry paste with a mortar and pestle, simmered the duck in curry paste, coconut milk and veggies. Mm.

wishing i had just used coconut milk instead of yogurt! (i have it on hand! was just trying to use the yogurt up!)

I've never brought yogurt to a boil and had a happy ending.

sigh :(

the recipe actually said to use yogurt rather than coconut milk.
my friend used to make a lovely yogurt curry. maybe she did not heat as much....

let's face it: it's cookin season
still a little hot here with the oven on, but i can't help it
i just want to eat something that doesn't come directly from the fridge

yeah, my living room thermostat said i got the temp up to 83 with my simmering, but it doesn't feel that hot. i think it reads high?

I turned some bacon fat, mushrooms, onions, garlic, flour, milk+water, seasonings and 1.5 cups of grated pecorino into a really nice pasta sauce last night.

tell me about your cucumber salad, tza

I bought real true guanciale at Salumi in Seattle on Friday and made carbonara with it tonight - it's a thousand times better than with bacon. Had that with sauteed rapini with chiles and garlic.

I went with a Crock Tease recp for chicken w mushrooms and onions, and according to the mushroom eater here, it was great!

Question: what does the internal temp REALLY have to be for a chicken breast? My meat therm says like 165 but dinner only got to around 140 and was well cooked, even dry. Do I have salmonella now?

I've never in a million years touched internal temp (and a lot of recommendations seem to stem from fear - so you end up with v dry meat). Go by weight and oven temperature (actually, I don't even go by weight for chicken, but by squinting and judging the size, although I generally am cooking for the same number of people).

Also, just stick a skewer in under the leg - if the juices run clear, its ready.

this website - http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/how-to-roast-a-chicken-butterflied-tips.html

says that for chicken breast 'Despite government warnings to cook chicken to an unthinkable 165°F, in reality, above 150°F or so, muscle fibers are almost completely collapsed.'

tell me about your cucumber salad, tza

― just1n3, Monday, October 11, 2010 10:40 PM

very simple. israeli cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, basil, oregano, red wine vinegar, oo, a few mixed greek olives, and a sprinkle of feta.

what does the internal temp REALLY have to be for a chicken breast?

The problem with using temp only is that what you really need to be looking at is temp + time. Salmonella is killed at 131 F for 60 min, or at 140 F for 30 min, or at 160 F for 10 min. Compounded by the fact that the internal temp will continue to rise after the meat is removed from the oven. I aim for 20 min/lb at 350 F, checking the internal temp 15 min before the planned end time. If the temp's over 145 F at that point, I take the bird out. If not, I check again in 5 or 10 min. Let it rest for 15 min before carving and it will be easier to cut and juicier. On a free range or pastured bird, the juices may still be slightly pink due to greater myoglobin in the muscles.

real true guanciale at Salumi

So so good. Try making all'amatriciana with it - cut 2-3 1/4" slices in to batons, brown slowly to render, add a can of peeled diced tomatoes to the meat and fat and cook down for 10-15 minutes until the juice thickens.

ohh

I would never think to measure the internal temp of something as basic as a chicken breast! Cook it til it isnt pink!

i do it all the time

There are few food things sadder than an overcooked piece of chicken imo.

a person eating an overcooked piece of chicken

What's overcooking?

just realised i need some guanciale in my life

My oven is ridic underpowered and won't return to temp once I put food into it. Think it might be a low wattage-model problem with a small apartment stove that the landlords never expected to be used for real cooking? May be using the slow cooker for a lot of stuff if I can't get this figured out, but it means I never know exactly what temp the cooking environment is.

Thanks, Jaq, for dropping some kitchen science! Now with two checks, I can determine that the meat has been hot enough for LONG enough that it's good to go without drying out. Also thx to just sayin for the cooking blog link, cos it seems v useful and scientific also. Had already determined that butterflying chix is the genius way, but again, even with that technique the oven isn't helping me out.