Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Wonderful Depths: flavor & intimacy

Not far from here, down in Bordentown is Mastoris' Diner.  It has a special lure, it is "cheesy bread".  No matter day or night, holiday or nothing you were served cheesy bread.  You perused the like 35 page menu, that one needed a magnifying glass, yeah that many choices, and ate the bread.  I never got anything that was not great.  On most occasions I ordered Shrimp Malfada or a California Burger, they were both my idea of yumminess.....  Good times... Very good times.

No matter how delicious burgers are out, there is something magical about having them made by us together at our house. 



And makes the best stuffed Artichokes....








Wusthof & Rosle are two of our favorite brands of kitchen tools.


I often think about it.  It is about a bond that you create and nurture always evolving: waxing & then waning.  Sometimes all else falls by the wayside, you forget, you loose, and the only way back is the past, to remember what it was before, it was before it went away.   I look back to the small easy days that were and know that I will make the stew with deep unctuous taste that comes from then to now because it is for you and me.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

doing summer things

The summer is the  perfect time to do outside things.  So early morning Farmers' markets, outdoor flea markets, and open Amish markets have been our weekly thing.  We make sure that we are home by late morning or early afternoon.  I have been trying new recipes, this I am sorry to say has meant that I've been less than stellar in photo taking.  I always start by grabbing the camera to make sure: battery is full, space on the Memory Stick/Card, and that is as far as I get.  Our vegetable and flower garden hasn't been photoed either, so yeah, I've been slacking.....

I did take some, so here they are:

These are from our garden planters, these tomatoes are doing wonderfully.  The tomato plants that are in the ground are doing just as well.  The herbs are growing like weeds.
The container tomatoes gave us fruit long before the ones in the ground
The Figs have landed.....I wish I could eat them, if I walk by them I have to run to....they really do run through me.  I made jam and gave it to Glenette.  She could not go to work the following day.
The Amish market is just amazing, the bacon is simply the best I have ever had.  It surpasses the bacon from the smokehouse in Warrensburg, NY.  I really love bacon.
Yummy 
My summer side dish is German Potato Salad.  I can't even begin to say how many times I have made it.  What makes it over-the-top is the bacon.  I like to bake the bacon, I think it cooks more evenly.  I strain the butter through a fine mesh strainer with a coffee filter.  The butter has to be golden and clear.  The onions have to be sauteed in the bacon.

No, Virginia, that is not too many onions......

I could really have some right now
Another great summer side, little baby taters & fresh corn boiled together with a smidge of butter, firewood smoked salt, pepper.  Simple and delicious.....
simple & delicious

Gabriella has requested Salmon twice a week, we have tried all different kinds of Salmon and have yet to make decision on which one is the best.  One thing I will say is that it has to be Wild Caught.
The meat is so clean tasting and each type has a different taste.  I was able to show my Mom the color difference between farm raised and wild caught.  No more farm raised for them anymore.





How beautiful are they
We have had many grilled burgers, hot dogs, pork chops, chicken thighs, and of course, steak....

But every other week I have made Pulled Pork, that is wanted by all.  I just love it.  Andrew takes off the non-essential fat, dries it totally, rubs it with his secret rub, then we wrap it up for a few days so that the rub permeates the meat.  When we are ready to make it, we sear it on all sides, lay it on a bed of slightly sauteed Vidalia Onions and Jack.  I have been using the probe thermometer to make sure the meat comes up to 195F.  I have had the meat stall on me at 185F twice and it took 3 hours to break the stall to get to the 195F.
This is a beauty

rubbed with the super secret rub
Vadalia Onions



pulling perfectly

stalled again 187 after 10 hours & finally at the 13 hour we got to 193
Yes I triple filtered the delicious juice
yeah, it was all that


Summer is almost over, time to think about the Fall......


Happy Birthday A & M





 

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Cooking on Goodall

Kiki called to tell me that all we needed to do was to go to their house I was elated.  The funny thing is that I felt lousy, not sick "lousy" but lazy "lousy".  I love to have the holidays, it is my thing, my shtick, my most wonderful "duty", my job.  I am the Keeper of Tradition.  It is a self-appointed position. 

I have been thinking about making a crepe cake.  Deciding on a filling was a no brainer, it had to be Dulce de Leche mousse.  Done, done, done.  I would need 3 days to make it properly.  Day one would be for making the crepe batter, it is always taste better when you make it and let it rest overnight.  I also made the dulce de leche.  I was so hard (hehehe).  You take the label off of a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk, put the can (unopened) into a pot and cover with water.  Then boil the can for 3 hours, make sure that the can is always submerged in the water.  I let the can cool on the counter.  When it completely cooled, I opened the can and made the mousse.  The morning of day 2, I made the crepes.  Later in the day I put the cake together.  On day three the cake was ready to be enjoyed.









I made a quick berry topping....

We may have been invited out, but we still made the lamb.  And deboned, trimmed, and butterflied the leg of lamb.  We made a delicious herb paste and then rolled and tied the meat.  I used And's 17" Lodge to roast the lamb, then made some pretty amazing pan gravy....it's all about the gravy...





It was a most wonderful day on Goodall.