what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

for the braise i riffed off this recipe and another one i had in a book plus whatever i had in my cupboard: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-braised-short-ribs-105868

thought the beer was nicer than a red wine braise which i've done a few times before - can be kinda heavy

red beans and rice turned out fantastic.
Mine was slightly bastardized from the traditional version.
I used the hambone leftover from our thanksgiving ham instead of a smoked hock
and for smoked sausage i used polish sausage instead of andouille or something more traditional because I can't handle a lot of heat in my spicy food lately.
but goddamn.
here's the recipe I used https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-red-beans-rice-recipes-from-the-kitchn-183859

love stuff like this where it's so simple and so flavorful

used an updated 19th century-vintage scottish shortbread recipe tonight & holy balls it was good

candied peel & almonds mixed in & caraway seeds on top

will need to tweak my technique & cook time a bit bc it was too crumbly but the flavor & texture was bang on - pretty much my platonic ideal of perfect shortbread

that sounds amazing

braised thighs & potato recipes are my kryptonite
this one is super good. potatoes come out like frenchified german potato salad!
i would cut back the sugar by half though, slightly too sweet for my taste.

https://www.macheesmo.com/dijon-braised-chicken-thighs/

made a Ethiopian dish that caught my eye a couple weeks ago but subbed tofu for chicken: https://www.africanbites.com/doro-wat-ethiopian-chicken-stew/
it. was. ridiculous.

https://i.imgur.com/qNo7E81.jpg

ah, the hot bread kitchen book has a doro wat recipe to go along with the recipe for injera. that looks good!

ooh bookmarking

"spiced butter" seems worth it

oh yeah i'm in

i made an Ethiopian feast* for Christmas! There's a little shop nearby that sells injera/berbere/other and they have the spiced butter. It's totally worth it.

*red lentils, spit peas, spinach, beet/fennel salad, lamb & fish

wow that sounds so good

it was! it was easy to make the lentils/greens the day before so that on day-of-feast, i just had to chop the vegetables and cook the lamb/fish + reheat the rest (which are probably better next-day anyway. one of the best parts were the many leftovers that i actually wanted to eat (as opposed to more traditional fare)

i made spinach pies from the leftover spinach

i keep thinking about this food and cultural anthropology and how if more people were exposed to ethiopian food there might be some carryover to caring about East Africa or trying to understand it politically or culturally but what the hell do i know.
i'm infatuated and making some spiced butter now in preparation for making a split yellow lentil dish (from africanbites blog) in the next day or so. should put on some Mulatu or ethiopiques disc i guess.

made this tonight: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/steamed-fish-with-lime-and-chile-380597#reviews

i seldom use my bamboo steamer but i can see myself doing this again many times. bit of sambal oelek on the side and a beer.

wish i had entire unscaled fish meals in my life

made this easy thai curry, https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015694-vegan-thai-curry-vegetables, and thought it was great (affirmed by partner). Used snow peas instead of green beans, half the palm sugar (piloncillo actually), and the green curry paste recipe in Splendid Soups. I used the shrimp paste, but it would be still good and vegan without. Will be my go to recipe for having veg friends over.

and good god, why haven't I gone to the thai market for coconut cream before must have been 10 options.

also v happy to find thag same store sells reasonably sized shallots

going to make mussaman curry paste and sub it in that same recipe because I was forced to overbuy eggplant at the market. recipe feels like a good baseline for testing different curry pastes. only complaint is that eggplant absorbs too much water if you reheat leftovers.

mmmmmm sno-peas. . . and thai curry. i must do this sometime soon, thx for the idea!

thank you for introducing me to spiced butter. this is what went into the molcajete for the paste (from Peterson soup book). dried red chilies used for red curry paste.

Green Curry Paste
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
0.5 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp grated nutmeg
0.25 cup cilantro leaves (tightly packed)
0.5 in. ginger, peeled and grated
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp shrimp paste (optional, leave out for vegan according to NYT recipe)
1 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 lemongrass stalk, bottom half only, finely sliced, then chopped
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
8 Thai chilies, seeded and chopped (or 12 jalapeno)
0.25 cup peanut oil

lovely! hell yeah to the eggplant idea, too. gonna do this someday soon

been cooking more tofu: extra firm, pressed, and dry fried. never marinate because adding to stuff with sauces, usually. anybody know a good way to press tofu quickly? or can somebody recommend a clever way to press tofu in the fridge while out or at work? or maybe pressing that hours ahead is a bad idea? is freezing really necessary?

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/02/vegan-experience-crispy-tofu-worth-eating-recipe.html

^^^addresses the question of pressing

hmmm. hot salt water idea is interesting. not crazy about consuming more paper towels after increasing surface area.

question:

i am making red beans and rice - recipe calls for smoked ham hock.
all I could find at the store is smoked *PORK* hock, so, not cured.

should I cook the pork hock in the oven first before making the the red beans and rice, or is it ok to use it as is?

i don't know the answer to the question and i'm far from a pork expert so my question for you is why do you think you should cook it first? i'm learning

well, idk exactly except that if it was a ham hock, it would already be cured and essentially kinda 'cooked' already? but if I cook the pork hock all the good stuff would cook out of it and i think I want that in the beans.
so.
i guess I'm not 100% sure if the uncooked pork hock would affect the end result.

given the simmer time for a trad red beans recipe i'd just throw the smoked hock in there. i see no reason to pre-cook it as it's going to cook through in an hour+

made the unparalleled Cook's Illustrated Chicken Stew yesterday for the first time this season (their goal was to make a stew that was as rich and meaty as beef stew and they nailed it). It has so many glutamates (bacon, anchovy paste, soy sauce) and basically tastes like fond stew. It is, in full CI fashion, quite fussy, but when it tastes this good you don't mind it.

http://gourmay.net/recipes/chicken-stew-cooks-illustrated/

making gigantic-ass grilled cheese w/ roasted yams, kale massaged with reduced balsamic, grated guyere and fontina (daiya for vegan niece) on tj's pain pauline. i'm excited. did this once before and it was killer. salad of chopped (raw) bok choy and thinly sliced red cabbage w/ a tahini dressing to go with (not cuz it needs more salad but i need to use up some bok choy)

sounds great! Doing fennnel/lemon sole in parchment tonight. With some tiny potatoes dressed in creme fraiche, horseradish, chives.

did the martha stewart mac & cheese recipe tonight for some friends, it's basic but so perfect

always ready to try another mac & cheese recipe

barefoot contessa vegetable lasagna also basic but perfect. Especially if you just make the marinara instead of buying $15 marinara.

go nuts https://www.marthastewart.com/957243/macaroni-and-cheese

been trying to cook a bit more lately. My most recent was pan-seared salmon topped with kalamata olive butter, and braised leaks on the side.

Tonight I made chicken breasts with a cumin/paprika/turmeric rub and lime juice. Involved such exciting elenents as deboning the chicken and transferring a large ultra hot cast iron skillet back and forth between oven and stove.

sounds great, though deboning feels unnecessary. Had a veggie tajine out to dinner tonight and now know what to make next.

Needed to be deboned to sit flat in the pan, but next time I'll probably just start with boneless breasts. I don't know that having the skin really added much.

St. Pat's supper last night was a simple one: ham (& mustard), colcannon, steamed chard, steamed carrots, Guiness. Nice, though.

i did corned beef in the slowcooker & it turned out the best it’s been in recent memory. i programmed it to cook to a set internal temperature and it totally worked.
i also made a really nice soda bread & we had all that with just kale & veg.

Just made a Dutch baby

oooh how’d it turn out?

Good! Sometimes Joy of Cooking is unimpeachable

Scarpetta spaghetti tonight. This is our go to pasta dinner. Always great, better when we can find fresh bucatini. We also add in all the chili flakes and crisp basil and garlic that is used to infuse the oil whereas in the recipes and videos he only uses the oil. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7BeGj38J4k

adding infused oil to the tomato sauce seems delicious. I am still skeptical, though, so I am compelled to make it myself. do you peel and seed fresh tomatoes when you make it or use canned? I've always used canned whole peeled san marzanos for red sauce.

I like sauce better with fresh tomatoes but I definitely used canned when tomatoes are out of season.