What's cooking? part 4

I make it twice a year, spring and fall generally. I roast about 10 lbs. of beef neckbones at 325-350 for a good while, probably 4-5 hours. Then into the big stock pot with cold water, peppercorns, bay leaves and all the aromatics, onions/carrots/celery/garlic, clean but unpeeled. I also make sure to deglaze the sheet pans with water and scrape the fond into the pot. Sometimes the tiniest bit of salt, but I shoot for a low-salt stock so I can control the saltiness of whatever finished dish it's going in later. Simmer but don't boil for about 3 hrs, then I turn off the heat and fish out all the bones and solids and strain it through cheesecloth. I'm lucky enough to have a 2nd fridge out in the shop, so I chill it overnight out there, peel the layer of fat off the top the next morning, and I've got the day to reduce it down to whatever strength I want it. Usually a Saturday/Sunday operation. Yields about 2 gallons, give or take. I have no idea if I'm doing it "right," but it produces a stock I really like.

10 lbs of beef neck bones!! I might not have enough, I only have 4 lbs of oxtails and 1.5 lbs of marrow bones, do I need more? I also read some people coat the bones in tomato sauce before roasting them? For some reason I can't imagine how big or small or what a beef neck bone would look like?

I like to use knuckles for the gelatin they add to the stock. Though I've read about making really long simmered stock (bone broth), I usually don't let it go for more than 8 hours covered. Then I strain it, chill it, defat it, and concentrate it (simmering until it's reduced by at least half). You'll do fine with the bones you've got, just use only enough water to cover them plus another inch - too much water can make weak stock. You're better off with more concentrated, which you can dilute.

Neck bone looks like a vertebra, bigger than a tail vertebra by some.

Oh, also I use only bay leaf and peppercorns for a 6-8 hour simmer, they can hold up to it okay.

http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2011/08/20110802-beef-tendon-500.jpg

Ye olde beef neckbone. Each of those pieces are probably 3" x 4", sliced about 1.5" thick. Lotta good stuff in those to be coaxed out. I'm lucky Tupelo's big enough (barely) to have one store with an actual butcher.

Experimenting with chestnut flour this morning in a baked pancake. Smells amazing!

Corned beef in the slow cooker today :D

Mr Veg said next year he'll attempt home-corning a brisket, which is v exciting

I've been wanting to make corned beef, with homemade potato salad!

This is only my second time making it. Last year I slow cooked it in the oven, but it got a little dry I thought. So I'm trying the all-day slow cooker with onions, garlic, guinness and a bit of water. We'll see. Oh and I'm having a crack at colcannon for dinner (kale not cabbage).

Home-corning queen

going to make some vaguely St David's Day tarts with 'reduced fat' frozen puff pastry that was reduced to 60p...

what are they? the tarts, I mean

leek and bacon, with a big thing of goat's cheese on :)

Channeling my spring fever into making portable heart shaped foods, like oatmeal cakes and egg blobs. It's turning out alright but I've got no idea where the little heart pans came from.

I'm v jealous of the heart pans, they are so cute.
We both have to work tonight after raucous bachelor party so big greasy breakfast with home fries in the pipeline here

I made those oatmeal cupcakes for my students for midterms and they actually like them! My only tip is that they need to cool significantly before being stored or condensation will make the cupcake liners all soggy.

Tonight I made Root Vegetable Hash with Pan-Seared Tortellini and so can you!

1 parsnip, cut into dice
2 small carrots, cut into dice
1 large Yukon Gold tater, cut into dice
1 small onion, cut into dice
Lots of cloves of garlic, chopped coarsely
Olive oil, salt, pepper
^^^^^toss, spread in even layer in 9x13, bake at 400* for 45 min or so, stirring every 15 (for the last 15 min I cranked it to like 500* to get it brown n crispy)

1 10 oz pkg tortellini
^^^^^cook acc to directions, maybe 1 minute less. Generously coat the bottom of a large heavy pan with olive oil, throw those little fuckers in and spread evenly and just walk the fuck away* for like 5-10 min til they get golden on the bottom. Stir and cook like 5 min longer
*it is v hard to resist the temptation to stir everything all of the time but I am learning how to do it for the sake of browniness

stir that shit up; drizzle some nice olive oil and sprinkle w/ salt. Boom.

http://1.media.collegehumor.cvcdn.com/77/41/10def5e465832d0a2b8690a4b70b0ca9-micdrop08.gif

o yea add some fresh herbs

*it is v hard to resist the temptation to stir everything all of the time but I am learning how to do it for the sake of browniness

this has been one of my major cooking lessons too

otm

Watching that Anthony Bourdain show and Bizarre Foods where they go on and on about the broths in the soups they try has made me determined to master broth and tonight was the first one I have been proud of. I used the broth I spend saturday night and most of sunday working on to make a sort of thai noodle bowl. I reduced it with ginger, lemongrass, dried chills, fish sauce and garlic, and added red and yellow bell pepper, purple kale, oyster mushrooms, bean noodles and garnished it with mint leaves, basil and cilantro. I also made Nam Jim Rod Dedt sauce!

need something to crock pot today. i'm going to costco in a little bit. i have been eating a lot of poached chicken breasts but i want something else, preferably that can be eaten at work with kale salad. ideas pls?

I like white beans with kale quite a lot. Pick up some dried white beans (do they have those at Costco?), maybe?. IME bone-in thighs are the best chicken parts for the pot. Chicken with lemon and HOMINEY (love that stuff) cooked in the pot and then tossed with kale and lots of lemon and garlic would be awesome.

ok but i mean like a meat and i'm tired of chickens!

ah OK in that case I would get some ground chuck/ground pork and do a chili, then toss in thinly sliced kale at lunchtime.

OH OH OH osso bucco in the crock pot is awesome; toss with pasta and kale, put in tupperware, nuke and PROFIT at lunch time.

I love love love this recipe, which looks so simple but comes out so awesome; I have done it in a crock pot:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orecchiette-with-Red-Wine-Veal-Sauce-10515

Maybe a shredded beef on top of kale? I'm looking forward to making Barbacoa beef tomorrow, mmm. I would eat it on anything.

Country ribs done as a more manageable pork shoulder. Dump in the slow cooker with some chipotles and tomato paste, shred after many hours on low.

you should get some kale and kale and toss it with some kale!!

SO good

haha

i'm making three batches of granola and trying to plan for the week + weekend + next week all at the same time and it's making my head hurt

yo dawg i heard you like kale

every time i pour a cup of coffee lately it dribbles all out of the spout and makes a mess and i don't know what the fuck it is i'm doing to cause that

i made grilled cheese, not the proper way like my mom used to, just some sliced up cheddar on some burnt-ass bread in a bare frying pan. worked fine. later i tried the same with a little onion salt.

i am experimenting with when to add broccoli to the vegetables i use for fried rice. trying to get them bright green but cooked through.

I followed a stir fry recipe that had a tip so brilliant and obvious I almost cried: steam broccoli separately, mix in before serving. Such a difference!

I am making my old standby slow cooker chicken and gravy for dinner

god I am so tired today I can barely stand to think about what I'm going to make for a side.
mashed potatoes likely, also U + K

I totally forgot to put the Barbacoa together this morning, but I bought a lot of lunch meat etc the other day so I made some bread that will be ready at 11 :P Sandwiches!

Or maybe just fresh hot bread slathered in butter and eaten over the sink like an animals tbh

animal style ftw

A&I did mushrooms a year or so ago and I had put bread on beforehand- when it was ready we tore off chunks with our bare hands, standing in the kitchen, laughing til we cried at my forethought. :) Memories.

acid brings ppl together <3

idgi that's how i eat all bread

fair

tomorrow making a going away meal for one of my favorite work friends of all time:
Indonesian Style Tempeh (slices simmered in a mixture of tamarind, water, galanga, ginger, etc. and then pan-fried) with some peanut sauce. i'm excited.
recipe from a Deborah Madison book

Galanga is the stuff that looks kind of like ginger, yes?

Yah, yah, heyyy
(ohh-way-ohh yah yah yay)

tempeh turned out v good even though it almost scorched whilst simmering due to a overlong meeting. will up the tamarind and flavorings next time but a seriously nice peanut sauce ( uber simple recipe: lightly sauteed minced garlic and ginger, melt in some quality peanut butter, dash of fish sauce, then add coconut milk in ~ a 2:1 ratio as the peanut butter. simmer 3-5 minutes. done) carried it through. got thumbs up from my Indonesian/American coworker.

yeah, quincie, looks like ginger's cousin if that makes sense. i've always called it "galangal" but leaving out the second "l" seems more common these days for whatever reason
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galangal xxost

I'm very excited, tomorrow I'm going to try to make Moussaka. I'm a little nervous because it needs to be gluten free and every recipe I've found for bechamel sauce does use egg yolks and each one uses a different flour. Does not using yolks in the sauce leave a lot to be desired? We have almond flour, an all purpose gluten free flour and rice flour, does anyone recommend one more than the other for bechamel on moussaka? Lots of recipes I've found call for cornflour or tapioca and I haven't had good results with tapioca flour with anything.

I meant every recipe I've found for gluten free bechamel sauce does not use egg yolks.