Sour dough French bread

I had my started go dormant in the refrigerator last May and I thought it would be a good time to revive it and do some baking.  Today I made some French bread to go with dinner tonight.  Dinner was grocery store deli fried chicken.

Korean dinner tonight

I haven't cooked much worth mentioning lately but today I went to an Asian market and got some pork shoulder and made bulgogi as well as Korean bean sprouts.  We cooked the bulgogi at the table and had two kinds of kim chi, red leaf lettuce, rice and laver.  Not in the picture was a chili paste and seasoned sesame oil.  I made some changes in my regular recipe as suggested by Charlies mom when she was here for their wedding.

PORK BULGOGE

Recipe By:Norm Matthews

1 Boston  butt pork roast, sliced wafer thin

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons sesame salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry

2 tablespoons red pepper flakes-substituted red pepper paste

8 green onion, sliced diagonally1"

toasted sesame seeds

peanut oil-for frying cook on portable grill instead of using oil.

Served with sesame oil seasoned with salt and pepper and with soybean dipping sauce for Korean BBQ.

Mix all ingredients except oil.  Set aside for a few minutes up to a couple of hours Cook pork on portable grill lined with non stick foil until pork is no longer pink..

Korean bean sprouts

10 oz. bean sprouts

1 T. Sesame oil

2 T Soy sauce  

1 T scallion, minced

2 tsp Sugar  

1 tsp vinegar (optional)

1 1/2 tsp sesame salt salt & red pepper (optional)

garnish toasted sesame seeds

Blanch bean sprouts, stop cooking by putting in cold water, drain, mix remaining ingredients and refrigerate a couple of hours up to a few days.

I had a chili dog again for lunch with left over chili.

The only toppings beside chili was green onion and cheese.

Chicken Parmesan

Breast of Chicken, Martini-Style

This recipe for breast of chicken, martini-style, is from "Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen," the cookbook by chefs Pino Luongo and Mark Srausman.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4.

• Coarse salt

• 8 ounces green beans or haricots verts, trimmed

• 4 carrots, cut into thin strips, about 2 inches long

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each), tendons removed

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 3 large eggs, beaten

• 1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• 2 cups safflower or corn oil

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 3/4 cup dry white wine

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Add carrots to boiling water and cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain and transfer vegetables to ice-water bath to cool. Drain and set aside. Repeat process with green beans.

3. Place each chicken breast half between two sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Using the flat side of a meat mallet or the back of a skillet, pound chicken breasts until they are 3/8 inch thick.

4. Remove chicken from plastic wrap; season with salt and pepper. Place flour, eggs, and cheese each in separate large, shallow dishes. Coat each chicken breast half evenly with flour, shaking off any excess. Then di !p in egg, followed by cheese to coat.

5. Heat oil in a deep large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is very hot, reduce heat to medium and, working in batches, add chicken. Cook chicken, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat process with remaining chicken, allowing oil to reheat between batches.

6. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add lemon juice and wine; stir to combine. Pour butter mixture into the bottom of a large baking dish. Arrange chicken in baking dish and top each with an equal amount of beans and carrots. Brush some of the butter mixture over the chicken and vegetables and transfer baking dish to oven. Cook until vegetables begin to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

First published October 2007

Jaque Pepin braised chicken with bacon and vegetables.

This recipe would make a good pot pie recipe if topped with a rich biscuit dough.  I don't understand why frozen pot pie packages have ALL WHITE MEAT on the label in all caps as though that's a good thing.  I'd much sooner get a frozen pot pie if it said ALL DARK MEAT. :)

Braised Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots, Mushrooms and Peas

Recipe adapted from "Heart & Soul in the Kitchen," by Jacques Pépin

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes 

Cook Time: 50 minutes 

Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

5 ounces thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼-inch batons

1 tablespoon canola oil

4 chicken legs (about 2¼ pounds)—skins removed, drumstick and thighs separated, patted dry

Kosher salt, to taste

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¾ cup dry white wine

1½ cups water

½ pound baby red potatoes

8 pearl onions, peeled

3 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 garlic cloves, smashed and finely minced

5 thyme sprigs

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ pound cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered if large

1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed

2 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Crusty bread, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the bacon and oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the bacon is crisp, 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

2. Add the chicken legs to the pot, increase the heat to medium high and season with salt. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and stir to distribute evenly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and reduce by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the water, potatoes, pearl onions, carrots, garlic, thyme and reserved bacon. Season with more salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the peas and cook for another 2 minutes to heat through. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

3. To serve, garnish the stew with parsley and serve with crusty bread on the side.

We test and taste every recipe we publish. While we collaborate with a lot of talented chefs, we adapt and tinker with everything in our test kitchen. (It smells really good in here). Our goal is to make sure every recipe works as well in your home kitchen as it does in ours. So go on, get cooking with confidence.

Brisket, smoked for 9 1/2 hours

Ten pound USDA Prime brisket @ 3.39/ lb. I couldn't pass it up even though I'd cleaned the smoker for the end of the year.  I had to get it going at least one more time. 

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5

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9

 8:00- 8:15  Trim and rub brisket Picture 1 & 2

8:20-8:45  Start fire in chimney Picture 3

8:45-9:00 transfer fire and preheat smoker Picture 4

                                                                                                                                          brisket

                                          back   front        damper    action                                            temp 

                                                                                                                                           point   flat

9:00                                  200    268           1              add brisket Picture 5

10:20                                250    317            0

10:35                                220    217            1

10:45                                225    269                            add chunk of wood for smoke

11:00                                 235    276

11:35                                 210    248           3              spritz, add wood chunk

11:45                                 235    280           1

11:50                                 210    253

11:55                                                             0            add coals

12:00                                 220   283            1

12:20                                                                            spritz. open smoker to let cool down a little

12:25                                  250   306           0              approx time of picture 6

12:30                                  235   285

12:45                                  235   282

1:00                                    217   264                               add wood

1:40                                    215    257          6               spritz , add wood, start more coals

1:50                                     220   265                           add wood Picture 7

2:00                                     250   323          0                add coals

5 hours elapsed                                                                                                                           159  155

2:10                                      235   300                                  spritz, cooled down smoker

2:30                                      223       276    2

2:50                                       225     285                      add wood Picture 8                                 169 162

3:30                                      215       243                       add coals

4:00                                     205        243

7 hours elapsed                                                                                                                            177 160

4:30                                       220       270                                                                                     179 163

                                                                                     Not the temperature I was shooting for, 

                                                                                      but it feels ready to wrap. WRAPPED

                                                                                      added wood adjust temp 

                                                                              6 then 0, then 2

4:45                                         230    295

5:15                                        225      284                    add coals

5:30                                        235      310

6:00                                         234    306                                                                                    194

6:30                                                                            removed from smoker                              195

Damper numbers= 0 closed. 1 open 1/8. 2 open 1/4. 3 open 1/2. 4 open all the way. 5 door open 1/2.

 6 door open all the way. 

Lunch: Chili Dog

Hebrew National hot dog on a tasted bolillo roll with left over chili.

Chili

Norm's Chili 

1 lb hamburger 

1 lb. ground pork 

1 onion, finely chopped 

8 oz tomato sauce 

1 Tbs. sugar 

3 Tbs. chili powder 

1 ounce red wine vinegar 

1 C. picante sauce 

1 bay leaf 

1/2 to 1 tsp. salt 

1 T. paprika 

1 can red beans, not drained 

1/2 tsp. pepper 

1/4 tsp. cumin 

1/4 tsp. cayenne 

1 bottle beer 

1-2 ounces cocoa powder 

dash or two Tabasco 

Saute meat, when almost done, add onions and garlic. When onions are tender, add rest or ingredients. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove lid and let cook down if necessary. Refrigerate overnight and remove fat and reheat. 

Note: if desired.... 

If cooked without beans, serve them and grated raw onion on the side as a garnish. 

Toppings

thinly sliced green onions

“ slice or diced fresh jalapeno

green olives, halved

small dice tomato

fresh lime wedges

sour cream 

grated monterey jack

pinto beans

saltines

tosted baguette slices

Potato Corn Chowder with Ham and Bacon

Cassie said she was getting off work early today.  There is some ham from the freezer that was left over from Easter.  There was some corn left over from something Cassie made and some bacon left over from something I made. I combined it all with potatoes and onions and made some chowder.  

Potato Corn Chowder with Ham and Bacon

A fresh corn chowder with tender potatoes and savory ham. This recipe is hearty and could be served as a main coarse for lunch or dinner. Adding the cobs of corn after removing the kernals adds a great fresh corn flavor to the soup base. A delicious seafood variation for this recipe would be to substitute the ham for some bay scallops or medium size shrimp with a cup of lump crab meat.

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

Olive oil

6 strips bacon, diced

1 small sweet onion, diced

1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 stalk of celery, finely diced (substituted some Romaine lettuce stalks)

2 large Roma tomatoes, diced

2 fresh ears of corn, remove corn kernals and reserve both corn and the cobs (I used 5 ears of corn)

4 cups chicken broth

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 pound red potatoes, sliced into 1 inch pieces

2 cups milk

4 tablespoons masa harina (used corn meal)

1 teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoons chipotle hot sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 cup cotija cheese, grated

6 ounces cooked ham steak, diced

salt and pepper to taste

* if you can’t find masa harina, you could thicken the chowder with 4 tablespoons each of softened butter and flour whisked together until smooth

Adding the cobs to the soup/chowder  adds a fresh corn flavor.

Red, white and yellow potatoes require less cooking time and ideal for soups and chowders. 

Directions:

1. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to large pot. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from pot and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. In that same pot, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and heat to medium.

2. Add the onions, serrano, garlic and celery. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cobs, tomato paste and 4 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes.

3. Remove the cobs from soup and discard. Add the potatoes, corn and milk. Whisk the masa harina with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. When the soup starts to simmer, whisk in the masa harina mixture. Add the thyme, chipotle and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook just until potatoes are fork tender. Add in the cotija cheese, ham and bacon. Cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish with green onions.

If you can’t find cotija cheese, substitute with Parmesan cheese.