Baked Beans, Meats, and Alaska

You may have noticed that our meals frequently involve three dishes. I'm not certain why this is so. It doesn't seem related to the amount of time or preparation involved - as you'll see in this post. Perhaps it is a minimum level of variety that feels "right"?

The origins of the ideas behind today's meal are quite different. Out of sheer concern for our nearly-full freezer, it was time to use some of the turkey and pork shoulder leftover from Christmas. A bit of ham also appeared ready for a second chance at the table, which had me thinking about a bean soup - a large bag of white beans in the pantry. Then the memory of a family favorite of my youth intruded. Finally, I relented to the request of the Junior Chef's to make good on my promise last fall to prepare a hot, sweet, and frosty treat.

Our menu: baked casserole of turkey and pork with applesauce, "New England" baked beans, and Baked Alaska.

The Method (Turkey and Pork Casserole)
Like many of you, we reach a point with holiday leftovers that demands action. Either we eat the remaining food with a burst of intense over three consecutive days of smorgesbord-ing, or we move the residuals to the freezer. I have several pounds of roasted pork shoulder (with garlic) and turkey that will demand attention in the coming weeks.

• 2-3# roast turkey and/or pork, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 C broth (use any type you'd like given how you approach the recipe)
• 2 C chunky, homemade applesauce (Thanks, Papa!)
• 1 C mozzarella cheese (honestly, I would have used Swiss but didn't have any in the fridge)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Place the meat in an oven-ready casserole. 
3. Add the both. 
4. If frozen, bring to a boil on the stove-top then proceed.
5. Cover the meat and broth with the applesauce.
6. Spread the cheese over the applesauce.
7. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

The Method (New England Baked Beans)

Offering a recipe for a ubiquitously popular dish like baked beans is a risky undertaking. Family and regional differences create strong preferences for ingredients; the ease of store-bought varieties makes the time involved seem burdensome. Nevertheless, I will share this from Superfoods by Delores Riccio, which contains a trove of excellent, ingredient-focused dishes. I had two pounds of beans, so I doubled the recipe.

• 2# dried white beans (Riccio calls for yellow-eye beans)
• 2 large onions, halved and separated
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 2/3 C molasses
• 2/3 C pure maple syrup
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 # cooked ham, diced (I added this)

1. Soak the beans
• either overnight in a gallon of cold water, or 
• quickly by placing in cold water, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the beans to sit for one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 300.
3. Set a pot of water to boil (2-3 quarts should do)
4. Drain the soaked beans.
5. Place half of the onion pieces in the bottom of a heavy casserole.
6. Cover with the beans and ham.
7. Mix together the brown sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper.
8. Add this to the beans.
9. Pour over the molasses, maple syrup, and oil.
10. Push the remaining onion sections into the beans.
11. Add sufficient boiling water to cover the beans.
12. Place the covered casserole in the oven.
13. Bake for five hours, checking hourly to stir and ensure there is enough water. Add more water if the beans begin to dry out.
14. After five hours, remove the lid and bake another hour until the beans are tender but not mushy. (Keep an watch on the liquid level at this stage.)

The Method (Baked Alaska)

Although I cannot point to its source, I had a long-held but mistaken notion that this was a complicated (or at least, risky) dish. When I realized that one needs only ice cream, sponge cake, and egg whites to make it, I agreed to give it a shot. We did need to make the sponge cake, which I won't review here. You can buy angel food or sponge cake, make it yourself, or use a substitute of some sort - maybe slices of leftover banana bread? This recipe is taken from the Joy of Cooking.

• cake, to cut into slices (Junior Chef #1 made a sponge cake)
• 6 egg whites (room temperature)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 C superfine sugar (I used powdered sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream (slightly softened to allow for scooping and shaping)

1. Preheat the broiler to high.
2. Make a meringue by beating the egg whites until frothy.
3. Add the cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating until the egg whites are almost stiff.
4. Beat in the sugar one TB at a time.
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. When the meringue is stiff, quickly place the ice cream into an oven-ready dish (I used a pie tin)
7. Shape the ice cream into an oval mound.
8. Cover the ice cream with strips or slices of cake.
9. Cover the entire surface with meringue.
10. Place the dish under the broiler - watching carefully!
11. Broil until browned (about 3 minutes).

The Results

The casserole turned out very well. That's a simple, delicious keeper! Baked beans - love in a pot. And the Baked Alaska - what fun!

Leaving nothing behind

Having lived abroad and traveled to many countries, I’m keenly aware of the almost-unique American' propensity to use only select portions of fruits and vegetables. For example, greens – now a favorite in our family thanks to Orchard Pond Organics – are widely seen as a Southern staple, but are less commonly eaten in the North. However, in many places – particularly those in less developed regions around the globe – so much effort is required to grow food plants that all edible portions are used. (You can extend the same argument to the eating of offal, use of plant roots/branches to make tea or medicine, and the inclusion of vermin and insects in the diet.)


This week we received a beautiful set of broccoli heads. Attached to each was a set of deep green leaves. If you consider store-bought broccoli, you’ll note that it generally comes without leaves.


Our neighbor brought over some pork and venison sausage, which he had prepared after a recent successful deer hunt. It was smoked, and therefore had a deep, rich flavor.  I decided to brown it over high, dry heat, and serve broccoli and fresh bread along side.
I cooked the broccoli, along with its leaves, in the microwave – steaming it for only two minutes. While I can’t promise that my neighbor will share his sausage with you, I can highly recommend enjoying all of your broccoli – and buying it fully adorned whenever possible!


 

Breakfast burritos

Having one's own meat grinder is a wonderful thing - especially if you love sausage. I woke up dreaming of a breakfast burrito. Having just received our OPO eggs and with cheese and flour tortillas in the fridge,  most of the key ingredients were at hand. We also had prepared some breakfast sausage during our recent sliders meal. The stage was set...

The Method (Breakfast Sausage ala Alton Brown)

• 2# pork butt, diced into 1/2" pieces 
• 1/4# salt pork, diced
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground 
• 1 1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp allspice (or nutmeg - still out)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Combine the seasoning and meat. 
2. Place in the freezer for 1/2 hour to allow the meat to become firm.
3. Grind.

The Results

If you haven't ever made your own sausage, it's an entirely different eating experience than store-bought varieties. The flavor is more subtle and the texture less uniform. It is also much less salty and tastes - in my mind - fresher, with an almost sweet undertone.

I don't need to relate the construction of a breakfast burrito: scrambled eggs, cheese, sausage, a bit of sour cream and salsa on the side. But - oh, wait - hash browns!  You have to add hashbrowns, too. Delicious - through-and-through!

The Method (Hashbrowns)

It's tempting to use frozen hashbrowns, but they take only a few minutes longer to make from scratch.

1. Grate 2-3 large yellow potatoes (a cheese grater works beautifully)
2. Grate 1/2 onion
3. Combine the potatoes and onion.
4. Squeeze handfuls of the mixture mercilessly over the sink. Remove as much water as you can.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Cook in a little oil and butter over high heat until golden brown.

Sliders, Grinders, and Chips

As I mentioned a few weeks back, Orchard Pond Organics has partnered with local farms to provide grass-fed beef of varying cuts and cheeses. Junior Chef #1 decided that we should make "sliders" for dinner. This sounded like a terrific idea - any excuse to eat 3+ burgers at one sitting. But then came the wrinkle: not only were we to make ground beef sliders, but "bratger" sliders, too. I figured we should go all the way and make homemade potato chips, too. At some point, I figure the fat molecules glide over one another and straight through your body - never having a real chance at being absorbed. Then again, I'm an optimist.


So we purchased 2# of Red Bridge ground beef along with our CSA share, then headed to the grocery store to buy pork, potatoes, and buns. I settled on a 3# nice Boston Butt, and decided to make breakfast sausage from half and bratgers from the other half.


The Method (Bratgers)
My first attempt at bratwurst burgers (bratgers) resulted in an overly-spiced sausage mix, and struggles with grinding the meat. After a quick Google search, I discovered that placing the seasoned meat in the freezer for a half-hour before grinding might address the latter problem. As for the seasoning, I decided to make do on my own.

1. Cube 1# pork (1/2 - 1# pieces is fine).
2. 3-4 slices salt pork, roughly chopped
3. Create a brat spice mixture:
• 1 tsp white pepper, ground
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 1/2 tsp allspice (I didn't have nutmeg, or I would have used that)
• 1 tsp sage, ground/rubbed
• 1/4 tsp coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
4. Combine the meat and spices throughly.
5. Place in freezer for 1/2 hour.
6. Grind.

The Method (Sliders)
There's not much of a story to tell about preparing the beef sliders. I added a little salt and pepper, a shake of garlic powder, and 1 TB of horseradish to 1# of meat.
I prepared 5 small patties from both the bratger and beef mixtures.

1. Melt 2 TB butter on a griddle
2. Add 1 onion, thickly sliced.
3. Place the patties among the onions. Flatten with your spatula.

We added blue cheese to a few of the beef sliders after flipping.
The Method (Chips)
If you don't own a mandolin, making homemade potato chips gives you the perfect excuse to buy one. They are not terribly expensive, and make the preparation of thinly-sliced veggies a snap. They consist of a sharp V-shaped blade set into a plastic or stainless steel surface. A hand guard allows you to work the food quickly across the blade without losing a finger. Some are adjustable to enable you to prepare julienne cuts, or to vary the thickness of the slices.


We used russet potatoes and produced the thinnest slices possible (.75 MM).


We fried these in 375 degree oil for 6-8 minutes per batch. (Don't overcrowd them.) We salted them lightly after draining on newspaper.


The Results
What is there not to love? Topped with the grilled onions, a little mustard, and a dab of pickle relish, sliders are tiny packets of finger-licking goodness. Better yet, we have leftovers - so they'll join us for another meal very soon. Sadly, none of the chips made it - in fact, none lasted but a few moments after hitting the newspaper. Starches receive no quarter here.


The bratger seasoning was a marked improvement over the original version. And, yes, slightly freezing the meat made all the difference: it ground easily and didn't bind up or become gummy in the grinder.

Four corners and layers of flavor

It's odd that I was in the mood for chicken. We eat little red meat and have chicken (or pork or seafood) for most meals. But chicken sounded perfect this weekend. Then there were the greens... Knowing that I have bags of fresh greens in the fridge led me to think about a variation on my fish + greens = goodness recipe in October.

I should confess that I also love crispy chicken skin, so cooking by steaming in a packet wasn't very appealing. Instead I decided to roast the chicken. How then to incorporate the greens? Certainly, they could be sauteed and stuffed in the bird, or perhaps laid underneath during cooking. I opted for the latter.

The Method (Marinade)

1. Combine:
   
   
   • 1 TB dried rosemary
   • 1 tsp ground black pepper
   • 1 tsp salt
   • juice from three oranges
   • juice from one lemon
   • 1/2 tsp mango powder
   
   
   
2. Marinate chicken pieces for 2-3 hours.

The Method (Greens)

1. Render chicken skin. (You should have 3-4 TBs of fat.)
2. Add 5-6 white radishes (peeled), 1 large carrot (roughly chopped), 1 large onion (roughly chopped).
3. Add 2 TBs garlic, minced
4. Add 1 TB ginger, minced
5. Sautee until vegetables begin to brown.
6. Add 5-6 C greens, roughly chopped (I used mustard greens and bok choy).
7. Cook until the greens are wilted and almost tender.

The Method (Chicken)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat oil in a deep skillet until smoking hot.
3. Brown the chicken on all sides. (Don't crowd the pan. The pieces will brown faster. I split one chicken into two batches.)
4. In a roasting pan, layer in order:
• the wilted greens and veggies
• a thick layer of cooked brown rice
• the chicken pieces
5. Drizzle the remaining marinade over the chicken.
6. Looking ahead to dessert, I partially cored and placed an apple in each corner of the roasting pan. I set a pat of butter inside the top of each apple.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the chicken is done. (I use a convection oven, which shortens the cooking time a bit.)

The Results

Everything was incredibly moist. The greens, much to my surprise, did not dry out at all. A few grains of rice around the edge of the pan were crispy. Orange infused the entire dish...but was not overwhelming. Rosemary was the most pronounced scent and flavor, but - again- not distractingly so. The apples absorbed the mix of flavors - bit of cinnamon would have been fine.

Next time, I would perhaps flip on the broiler for the last few minutes to crisp the chicken skin a bit more.  This would work well with fish (if it is firm fleshed and/or oily like salmon), beef, or pork. The addition of carrots was fine but not necessary, while the onions and radishes contributed to the overall flavor of the greens.

Beans, Bones, and Greens.

As I have a few times previously, I found myself confronted with a backlog of greens. There was also the residual humerus from the stuffed pork shoulder to be addressed. Touring the pantry, however, I found few options for dried beans...until I stumbled upon a bag of lima beans. But, these were purchased from Winn Dixie perhaps 5-6 years ago.

Would they still be good?

They smelled fine and were uniformly firm. I decided to quick soak them and see. Finding no issues, I proceeded with the soup.

The Method

1. Place the dried beans (any type) in several cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cook for two minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain.
2. Soak a handful of dried forest mushrooms in very hot water for 20-30 minutes.
3. While the beans and mushrooms soak, brown pork bones in a deep pot. (You could have done this in the oven for an even deeper roasted flavor.)
4. Scrounge three leftover Italian sausages from the freezer. (Why did I have three, single sausages in ziplocs? Why not just cook the extra link each time?)
5. Brown the sausages along with the bones.
6. Add six cloves of whole garlic, the mushrooms, 1 tsp dried thyme, a bay leaf, and enough water to cover the bones.
7. Bring to a boil.
8. Add the soaked beans.
9. Add 6-8 cups of roughly chopped greens (bok choy and mabuna).
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Simmer for at least 1/2 hour. (I cooked this for 2+ hours.)
12. Remove the bones - picking and adding any meat to the soup.

The Result

Mellow. The sharpness of the greens and roasted pork bones were discernible and the beans created a thick, creamy base. It was the perfect dish, served with a salad and slices of Anadama bread (freshly thawed and heated in the oven), for a cool fall evening. The Junior Chefs added hot sauce to their bowls partway through and reported it was delicious (my bowl was already empty).

Other things to try. I would certainly make this with other types of stock bones. It would also be worth adding tomatoes or tomato paste midway through cooking. Different varieties of beans would work well, too.

Stuffed Cider Pork Shoulder

I recently saw a recipe for a smoked pork shoulder stuffed with blanched greens. While I like smoked meats, building an entire meal around a single smoked cut is tricky business. If the smoke is too strong, it could overwhelm the dish. Perhaps I'll try to smoke my own some time soon.

Instead, I decided to work with a fresh pork shoulder, which I deboned myself. (That was a harder task than I anticipated. It did leave me with an excellent bone with which to make a pot of beans at a future date.)

The marinade is also my own creation. I'm blogging prospectively. It's shaping up to be a two-day prep. We'll see how it turns out.

The Method (Marinade)

After deboning the shoulder, I realized that someone (Senior Chef #2) had made a fruit salad using the orange I intended to add to the marinade. This sparked a little innovation.

1. Season the shoulder, laid out in a roasting dish:
   • Salt and pepper
   • Thyme
   • Allspice (ground)
   • 7-8 cloves
   • 6-7 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
   • 4 sticks of cinnamon
2. What to use as liquid? I had once made pork loin roasted with granny smith apples. While we had no apples in the house to add to the marinade, we did have...
   • 2 bottles of hard, granny smith apple cider
3. Cover the pan with foil. Marinade overnight. Flip the meat two or three times.
4. Retain the marinade after removing the meat. Bring marinade to a boil and set aside to use as basting liquid when roasting the pork.

 

The Method (Stuffing)

I opted for a mixture of spicy greens to offset the sweetness in the cider and allspice.

1. Roughly chop 1# mustard greens.
2. Dice 1 sweet potato (about 1 C).
3. Bring several cups of water to a boil.
4. Add the garlic, cinnamon sticks, and cloves from the marinade to the water.
5. Blanch the sweet potato for 5 minutes.
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sweet potato, cinnamon sticks, garlic, and cloves.
7. Salt the liquid and return to a boil.
8. Add the mustard greens and cook until tender (about 10 minutes).
9. Drain the greens.
10. In a bowl, mix the greens, 1 TB butter (melted), and one egg (beaten).
11. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper.
12. Place a layer of greens followed by a layer of sweet potato over the butterflied pork shoulder.
13. Roll the shoulder to enclose the stuffing. 
14. Secure with butcher's string. 

The Method (Roasting)

I began by cooking this over indirect heat on the grill for 1 hour, skin-side down. The heat was a bit high (or I left it longer than I should have) and the skin crisped up very quickly.

Next, I flipped the roast and basted it with some of the leftover marinade. (At this point, I add a few briquettes of charcoal to each side basket on my grill. I should have covered the meat with foil, but didn't.)

When I next checked the meat (one hour later), the skin had browned considerably. I intended to make several shallow slices in it to allow the fat to cook down, but it was too hard to pierce easily. I managed to stab a few small slits and basted it. I added a few more pieces of charcoal.

The roast cooked for a total of 3 hours (160 degrees internal temperature is fine). I was distracted and cooked it to 169 degrees. :(

The Result

This reminded me of pig roasts from my youth. The garlic and spices permeated the meat. It cooked longer than I would have liked and was a bit dry as a result.  The greens were exceptionally mild, even though I used mustard greens; and the sweet potatoes were equally understated but tender.

The Junior Chefs weren't happy with the amount of fat surrounding each slice. (This is either a boon or bane of pork shoulder - depending upon your fat-titude. I think, too, they were less happy with this cut of meat, because it is much more "gamey" than other types of pork (especially when roasted this way).

The Senior Chefs enjoyed themselves (as did Chuck's best furry friend forever, Ticho, our Havanese). We agreed I should have cooked it for less time and basted it more frequently. Still, the spices and cider marinade worked very well. The meat had a smoked quality from the long roasting. Had I protected and scored the fat earlier on, I think it would have improved things overall.

Served with brown rice. A solid dish. If you like pork shoulder, this is worth trying. Enjoy!

Boeuf et Porc: Tried and New

It is an act of pure hubris to blog about making boeuf bourguinon. After the release of Julie and Julia earlier this year, I suspect there are thousands of folks who have made and waxed poetic about this dish. 

You can find a scanned copy of the original recipe here on Knopf's website. This also provides the recipes for the brown-braised onions and sauteed mushrooms that accompany (and round out) this classic dish. I have made this before, so will provide only a few photos that show the major steps.

(I decided to create a separate pork shoulder post, but I'm leaving reference to pork here because I like this post title.)

The Method (Boeuf Bourguinon)

	Brown the beef. I used a top round roast, which I cut into chunks. It does make a difference if you buy good meat and dry each piece before searing.
	It is well-worth the time to prepare the mushrooms and onions in the way described in the recipes.
	I use a coffee-filter tied with twine to hold the herb bouquet in dishes like this. (You can see this in the onion picture.)

The Result

There's little I could add to your imagination beyond what the recipe provides that could further convince you to take a few hours to prepare beef bourguinon.You deserve to eat this meal...today. It was, in fact, so good - and late after a night of Halloween festivities - that I forgot to take the picture until mid-way through the meal.

It is so rich, however, that we'll need to wait another couple of months before making it again.

Three for Three

With family in town, who like to eat, today has been a frenzy of cooking. Three dishes in three hours.

• Leek and Potato Soup
• Boeuf Bourguinon (ala Julia Child)
• Stuffed pork shoulder (ala moi)

We'll deal with the second and third dishes in later posts.

The Method (Leek and Potato Soup)

With an hour's notice, I was asked to make soup for lunch. This is a simple recipe for that yields a creamy, fresh soup.

1. Chop four slices of bacon into 1# pieces.
2. In a soup pot, brown the bacon in 2 TBs of butter.
3. To the pot, chop and add:
   • 3 large leeks
   • 1 large onion
   • 2 stalks celery
4. Saute the vegetables - without browning - until tender.
5. Add 2 quarts chicken stock.
6. Add 5-6 potatoes, roughly chopped. (I used yellow potatoes, which resulted in a light green color to the soup.)
7. Bring soup to a boil then simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 15-20 minutes).
8. Blend or mash the veggies to create a smooth soup. (I used a potato masher, leaving the pot on the stove.)
9. Optional: add 1-2 C heavy cream at the end. If you do, however, the soup will not freeze well.

The Result

Everyone enjoyed this light (we omitted cream), flavorful soup. I like mine with a heavy grind of black pepper. There's plenty for another meal.

Meggsican Breakfast Magic

We haven't yet gone grocery shopping for the week, so our supplies are running a bit low. (If I was completely honest, I would tell you that we have a pantry stocked so full it could support us for several weeks if need be.) Last week was very hectic with the Senior Chefs both traveling for work...

Wow! Without ruining the surprise...I have to admit that I just checked on breakfast in the oven...very, very exciting! (More about that in a moment).

Consequently, we didn't make very many meals at home. That left us with a surplus of OPO produce and other farmer's market goodies. In reviewing the situation, I pulled a bag of chili peppers from the vegetable drawer along with a carton of eggs. This sparked an idea for a breakfast casserole.

The Method
First, bear in mind that this is a dish intended to use up items in the fridge and pantry. I began with the basics. An egg-based casserole benefits from a starch of some variety as an ingredient (i.e., frittata) or base (think quiche). I opted for oatbran bread. Also, I wanted to use the bag o'peppers, and remembered our recent success with roasted green chiles. So, I flipped on the broiler.

1. Preheat the broiler.
2. Place several green chiles (including one anaheim pepper) on a baking sheet and roast. Turn as the peppers blacken. Total roasting time was about 10-12 minutes.

3. Remove chiles to a ziploc and place in the fridge. (Thanks, Ellen, for this suggestion.)
4. Meanwhile, cook 5-6 slices of bacon. (Okay, we cooked an entire pound...ate a few slices in the process; but only 5-6 made it into the casserole.)
5. Grate a stick of "seriously" sharp cheddar cheese - about 2 C
6. Butter 5-6 slices of good bread and place butter-side down in a 9x13 baking dish.
7. Prepare an egg mixture:
• 6-7 eggs beaten
• 1 C skim milk
• 1/2 C half-and-half (because you ran out of milk)
• 1/2 C water (because you didn't have enough milk or cream)
• 1/2 C ricotta (leftover and lonely in the fridge)
• 1 TB oregano
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder (because you ran out of fresh garlic)
• Salt and pepper

8. Peel and chop the chiles. Spread onto the bread.
9. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the chiles.

10. Add a layer of bacon slices and tomatoes.
11. Pour the egg mixture into the pan.
12. Cover with a final layer of cheese.

13. Allow to rest in the fridge. (Optimally, you would leave this overnight, but it was already 9:30 a.m. so we decided 15 minutes was sufficient.)
14. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

The Result
Clearly, this is BRUNCH, in that a) it contains all of the food groups, including bacon, b) it didn't come out of the oven until 10:30, and c) it contains more calories per cubic inch than most naturally-occuring or synthetic food products.

It is gorgeous! Fortunately, we don't have guests here for the weekend, so there's no obligation to share this with anyone else. (I considered grabbing the casserole and making a break for the car, but Junior Chef #2 is patroling to ensure that she doesn't miss the opportunity to eat.)

It smells wonderful! We use a good deal of oregano in our cooking, and it plays a prominent role here.

Off to eat...taste report forthcoming...

This is a very intense, savory dish. Everything melded together well. The chiles produced a little background heat and deep, roasted flavor. Junior Chef #1 was very happy with how the tomatoes turned out - given we included them at his suggestion.

Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. That said, I would make a few adjustments next time.

• Grease the pan for easier serving.
• Reduce the oregano by half to 1/2 TB. There are a lot of flavors involved. The oregano was too pronounced.
• Add little or no salt to the egg mixture. The bacon and cheese are salty enough by themselves.
• Use heartier bread. The store-bought variety lost most of its texture. French-bread or another type would retain more "bite." I also think it would be worth trying this with corn bread. That would produce a very different end result - probably much sweeter and creamier.
• Bacon alternatives. I would chopped the cooked bacon next time. The strips made this difficult to cut. It would also be interesting to try alternative meats, including roast pork, grilled chicken, or ground turkey. The dish is substantial enough to incorporate these. It would then serve well as a dinner entree. (This could easily be a meatless dish, too.)

CSA Week 8

The heat has continued to take a toll on Orchard Pond. Nonetheless, we received a large share. Two new items, white radishes and salad greens, appeared.

• Okra (last week was so busy we didn't cook the red okra; I'll combine both in a curry)
• Salad greens (lunch today?)
• Turnip greens
• Basil
• Mustard greens (stuffed pork shoulder, along with the turnip greens?)
• White radishes
• Baby arugula

Requisite Chuck shot (she ate the salad greens):

Who needs C, D, E, and F?

When you have ... or at least can make... B & G? This classic takes me back to my first restaurant job. We served biscuits and gravy by the potful, but never made it truly from scratch. I tend to order a single biscuit with gravy as a side when I eat breakfast out. Recently, I had developed a craving to make the real-deal at home. 


Sunday proved to be the perfect, cool fall morning to satisfy this urge. The biscuit recipe is Paula Dean (I was looking for a shortening-based version instead of my usual approach using butter.) The gravy is impromptu.


The Method (Biscuits)
This is an excellent recipe for teaching Junior Chefs.

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Combine: 3 C all-purpose flour, 2 TBs sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.
3. Cut into the dry mix 1/2 C vegetable shortening. (Paula says to use a fork, but this is slow going initially. We used our pastry blender instead - see below.)
4. Continue cutting the shortening in until the mixture assumes a grainy texture (like cornmeal).
5. Add 1 C buttermilk slowly until the dough just holds together. (Paula says, "well mixed" but we Yankees know better than to overmix biscuit dough.)
6. Turn the dough on to a floured surface. Press to form a soft but cohesive pile.
7. Knead very lightly 2-3 times (We accomplished 3 folds.)
8. Roll out the dough gently until 1/2" thick.
9. Cut out biscuits. (We used a 1 cup measuring cup without a handle.)
10. Place on a cookie sheet. (Paula says greased. We left it ungreased without problems.)
11. Brush biscuits with melted butter.
12. Bake 14 minutes, or until golden brown.

The Method (Gravy)

You can make sawmill or milk gravy very simply. Browned meat, flour plus the drippings, and milk. I took a slightly more seasoned direction.

1. Brown 1/4# salt pork/fat back in a deep pot. (You could use several strips of good bacon.)
2. Add 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3. As the onion softens, add 3 cloves of garlic, chopped. Stir.
4. Add 1# pork sausage. (You could use ground pork and season to your own taste. We defaulted to a prepared breakfast sausage.)
5. Cook the sausage until done. 
6. Sprinkle 1/3 C flour over the sausage and mix well.
7. Cook floured sausage another 2-3 minutes until all juices are absorbed and the flour begins to lightly brown.
8. Slowly add 2-3 C skim milk. (Why skim? It's what we had in the fridge. Frankly, given the calories and fat in this dish, whole milk would have had little effect on the final result - especially because...)
9. Add 1/4 C leftover heavy cream.
10. Season liberally with salt & pepper, 2-3 solid shakes of cayenne pepper (could have used more), and 1 tsp of dried thyme. (Sage may have worked well, too.)
11. Cook gravy until it thickens - about 5-6 minutes.

The Results

There is little need for an extended discussion of the results. Pictures will suffice.

For those who would like the before shot...

I could eat this every day...at least until the cardiovascular disease set in.

Sarma and Remains of the Days

The cooking ceased for the last few days. We have a refrigerator filled with leftovers. This makes evening meals a snap, and allows for interesting combinations.

Two nights ago we had beer can chicken, boiled red potatoes with a little gumbo as gravy (yes, it was excellent gravy), and spicy greens.  Gumbo reappeared as a stand-alone meal, too. Another night was spent re-enjoying the bratgers and potato, greens, and ham casserole. 


Yet, I had planned to make sarma (stuffed cabbage leaves) in the crockpot. I had already frozen a head of cabbage from the farmer's market, so I was committed to this dish. Yesterday, as we finished off the remains of the past several days, I prepared my sarma.


The Method

1. Place a head of cabbage in the freezer until frozen solid (a couple of days). Transfer to the refrigerator two days before making the dish. 
2. Using a sharp knife, remove the stem of the cabbage. Gently peel off several large leaves.
3. Prepare the filling. Combine well:
• 1# ground beef
• 1/2# ground pork
• 1/2# ground ham (using your new Kitchen Aid food grinder)
• 1 C uncooked white rice
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
4. Place a good portion of the filling in the middle of each cabbage leaf.
5. Tucking in the sides, roll each leaf around the filling until it forms an oval packet.
6. Spread 1# sauerkraut in the bottom of the crockpot
7. Place the sarma rolls on the sauerkraut.
8. Cover the rolls with a 15 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.
9. Set crockpot to low and cook for 8-10 hours.

The Results

After a great Saturday filled with fun, a few errands, and friends, it was nice to have dinner ready when we were. The sarma were complemented by a steamer filled with brown rice (good enough to eat for breakfast, I might add) and a quick pot of lima beans cooked with a few onions sauteed in a piece of rendered bacon.


I'll open with the closing remark of Senior Chef #2 - "this might be my favorite meal you've made so far [since blogging, I'd like to think]." Sarma is comfort food at its best: easy to prepare, delicious, filling and - yet - only a small helping of guilt. The filling is light and savory. It absorbs the flavors of the tomatoes and sauerkraut. Amazingly, the cabbage retains some firmness despite the many hours of freezing and cooking. It is a straight-forward dish without a great deal of complexity.


We only ate 1/3, thus raising the possibility of another 1-2 meals this week.  This doubles or triples the overall rating for the dish. 

Roux the day

Yet another repeat appearance by OPO okra in this week's CSA share had me scratching my head for novel ways to prepare this southern slimy favorite. Fried, stewed, and casseroled versions have already been employed. I decided to try my hand at Gumbo.


Let me begin by suggesting this is a dish you probably will want to make in private. In at least one critical junction in the preparation, you will probably feel a) very guilty, b) very hungry, and c) uncertain whether you can actually proceed according to the recipe. The result will not be as good if you lose your willpower at that moment and decide to safeguard your health rather than following the directions. Proceed at your own risk.


The Method
This is an amalgamation of several different approaches I've seen to gumbo. I am emboldened to try this or any other single pot recipe after having purchased a 9 quart Le Creuset enameled cast iron French oven a few years back (to support a successful Christmas cassoulet). The better the pot, the more confidence you can bring to dishes like gumbo.

1. Heat 1/2 C oil in a deep pot.
2. Brown a pieces of a whole cut-up chicken (salted and peppered) in the oil and remove to a plate.
3. LEAVE the oil and chicken drippings in the pot. (Yes, this is the point-of-no-return. There should be about 1C of fats.)
4. Incorporate 1 C flour into the hot grease. This is your roux. 
5. Continue to cook -stirring regularly - the roux over fairly high heat for several minutes. It will brown. The intensity of the browning will affect the flavor and color of the final dish.
6. To the roux, add: 1 roughly chopped onion, 1 roughly chopped green pepper, 2 roughly chopped stalks of celery, one head of garlic (minced), 8 bay leaves (yes, 8).
7. Cook the veggies with the roux for 3-4 minutes.
8. Add 2 quarts of chicken stock.
9. Return the chicken to the pot.
10. Add 1# of sliced andouille sausage, a chopped (real) tomato, and smoked pork neckbones (remaining from spicy greens).
11. Add 1# chopped okra
12. Season to taste with: salt and pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and paprika
13. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 hours.
14. Serve over rice.
15. Freeze the leftovers.

The Result

Heaven. Well, if the idea of eating a pot of chicken and sausage gravy with the occasional vegetable poking out sounds like a dinner worth having, this was heaven! The sausage gave the dish just a hint of spice, but wasn't distracting. The okra dissolved, thickening the stew. Perhaps some would add it much later so that it would retain its independence, but we enjoyed it in this way. We have plenty to put in the freezer, and still more for a second meal later this week. (Given the high fat-to-other-things ratio, this is probably a wise choice.)

Bratgers

Sausages. Despite my many day dreams to the contrary, sausages have not been designated a food group by the FDA. My mom likes to tell stories of how I would devour numerous bratwurst at a single sitting. So, it's little wonder that this recipe for Bratwursts in Burger Form led me to: 1) put it on tonight's menu immediately, 2) buy a meat grinder for my Kitchen Aid mixer, and 3) spend more time tonight than is sane grilling in 90 degree heat.


The Method
Brat Spice Mix
2 TBs ground white pepper (this was TOO much; cut it in half)
2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp ground mace (we used fresh grated nutmeg instead)
1 tsp ground celery seed
1 3/4 pounds pork shoulder, diced
1/4 pound fat back, diced (we used salt pork, which I should have parboiled to desalt)
2 TBs kosher salt
1 tablespoon brat spice mix (Okay, this step is confusing. First, it seemed there was a commercial spice mix to be added. Then I figured it was a reference to the ingredients above. This latter interpretation is probably correct. However, I then failed to remember the portion size when making the dish. We used the entire batch of spice mix instead of 1 TB. After a little thought and before grinding the meat, we washed 2/3 of the meat to remove the seasoning. The end result was not too heavily seasoned. I think 1-2 TBs total for the dish would be adequate.)

1. Combine all the spice mix ingredients.
2. Toss the pork shoulder and fat back with the salt and the spice mix and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
3. Grind through the coarse die of a grinder and form into 4 (8-ounce) patties. (I ran into problems here. The connective tissue in the meat clogged the grinder plate a couple of times. It probably would have helped to have chilled the meat - even to freezing - and to press smaller amounts through the grinder.)

Spicy Sauerkraut
1 C store-bought sauerkraut (Publix had Hebrew National brand on sale today. YAY!)

• 1 TB diced bacon (We like bacon. We used 2-3 slices.)
• 1/4 C onion, sliced (No gum chewing, but the small portion presented no difficulties.)
• 2 TBs white wine
• 2 juniper berries, crushed (Yes, we have these in the pantry and use them every so often.)
• 1/4 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 TB garlic-chili paste (Found this in the Asian food section at Publix. Very, very tasty.)

1. Soak the store-bought kraut in water for 20 minutes, drain excess water. 
2. Render the bacon; add the onion and saute until translucent. 
3. Add white wine and cook off the alcohol. 
4. Add sauerkraut and spices and enough water to cover. 
5. Simmer for 1 hour. Cool. Mix in garlic-chili paste.

Toppings

• slices gruyere cheese
• slices bacon, cooked
• Large hamburger buns, toasted

1. Cook burger patties until medium-well. 
2. Melt 2 slices of cheeses on top of each patty. 
3. Place on toasted bun and top with spicy kraut.

The Method (Spicy Greens)
Another DDD recipe. We have eaten so many greens recently, in many forms, that I wasn't sure that a straightforward greens-only dish would be interesting...but this seemed worth a shot.



6 C water

2 1/2 pounds collard greens, cleaned (We used OPO collards and rutabaga leaves

2 pieces smoked neck bones

1/2 C beef base

1/4 C seasoning salt

1/4 C black pepper (Yes, it calls for a 1/4 C. I would reduce this considerably next time.)

1/4 C garlic chopped

1/2 C chopped onions

1/2 C chopped bell peppers
2 pieces fresh basil leaves

1/4 C sugar

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the water to pot, and all the remaining ingredients. 
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. 
3. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl to serve.

The Results

Spicy! The burger was tremendous. Just like eating a fresh brat, but TOO much white pepper (IMHO). Gruyere was a perfect topping. It was creamy and tangy enough not to be lost. We added mustard. The spicy sauerkraut paled in comparison to the heat of the greens, which were delicious but very, very spicy. We discovered how spicy everything was before we ate, so we heated some baked beans as a side. This was a smart - and sweet - choice. (Speaking of sweet...we then had our cake.)