I got a pretty nice flush of chilies with the garden this year. As they all ripen in a few waves, I need to figure out something to do with two waves of perfect chilies. They taste great on their own but as I’m the only one in the house with a sufficiently deadened tongue, I need to preserve them. Pat recommended a fermented hot sauce and that sounds right up my alley.
This was a wonderful experiment for the 113°F Phoenix summer. My FiL got an automated garden for Christmas and has been growing mint like crazy. He warned me about it taking over my raised planter and I dismissed that because I love mint. Naturally, it took over half of it and had to be dealt with. I harvested half of it which yielded 250g of mint leaves. In retrospect, I could easily have doubled the mint quantity in this recipe.
This is just a classic. I would hesitate to call this a recipe and really more of a ‘method’. This is really about getting as much beef in your mouth as you can and extending that experience with potatoes and carrots. Ingredient Quantity Butter 4 Tablespoons Beef, Chuck 4lbs whole Baking Powder 1 Tablespoon, For Dusting Onion, White 1 Large Celery 3 Large Stalks Garlic 1 Head, All Cloves Carrots 2 Large Carrots 3 Large Little Potatoes 20 Small Bay Leaves 4 Fresh Soy Sauce 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar 2 Tablespoons Thyme Lots of sprigs Chipotle Chiles 2 Tomato Paste 2 Tablespoons Bone Broth 1 Quart Wine 1 Cup Fire Roasted Canned Diced Tomatoes 2 14oz Cans Instant Pot 1 Procedure Firstly, let your beef come to room temperature.
Ash has been wanting these for 2 months. I couldn’t say no when we were going to be using the Traeger anyways. Ingredient Quantity Jalapeños 18 Medium Thin-Cut Bacon 1 Pack Cream Cheese 8-10 Oz (room temperature) Colby Jack 4 Oz Chili Powder 1 tsp Granulated Garlic 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Scallions 2 minced Procedure Split the jalapeños lengthwise. I liked splitting them through the stem so that they had little handles.
What’s better than a BBQ on a National Holiday? I used the Traeger for some St. Louis cut ribs. This recipe was crazy simple. Like shamefully simple. Mostly I just want to get in the habit of updating my blog, so this is what you get. Ingredient Quantity St. Louis Ribs 2 Racks Favorite Rub Lots Texas Blend Traeger Pellets At least 2 hoppers worth Oh yeah, you’ll need a Traeger too.
I don’t really like the distinction between ‘bone broth’ and ‘stock’ because they’re the same thing if done right. The distinction is useful because the product that is called stock in a grocery store is very different. Useful, but different. Bone broth is gelatinous at fridge temperature. This is because you cook down the bones and connective tissue over a long period of time. Collagen is converted to gelatin and you get meat/bone jello.
Serious Eats is becoming my go-to for food articles. I’ll immediately check for results from them when I need a standard technique. Kenji does a great job of testing. Even things as simple as boiled eggs. Ingredient Quantity Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast ~ 6 Breasts Kosher Salt 80g White Granulated Sugar 25g Water 2L Big Bowl 2 These measurements differ from the ones in the article because I found the resultant breasts to be too sweet.
Andy’s one of my best friends. He’s also a Vietnamese guy. He makes delicious dishes and during our time as roommates, he expanded my knowledge of ingredients. He introduced me to fish sauce and it’s role in savory dishes. Also, how it should never be left to roll around in the back of your car. Ingredient Quantity Chicken Breast, Roasted 10 oz Butter, Salted 1 Tablespoon Onion, Chopped 1 Medium Sugar (optional) 1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce 2 Tablespoons Better than Bullion, Chicken 1 Tablespoon Okra, Sliced, Wheels 40 Pods Cilantro Handful Green Onion, Chopped Handful Water / Chicken Broth Lots Start by frying your pan ingredients together in the bottom of a heavy pot.
Fuck yo tongue. Ingredient Quantity Chilies Tub `O Break the ends off the chilies and throw away any mushy or moldy ones. Lovingly slice them in half lengthwise. You could take the time to seed them, but that kinda defeats the purpose of making your own ridiculously hot crushed peppers. Use gloves if you like to touch yourself.
Basics with Babish did pizza dough this week. I’ve been waiting for Sunday all week because of that. He mentions that the recipe is Jim Lahey’s overnight pizza dough. The recipe looks super simple and I love the fact that everything is listed in grams. Baking is science and that’s usually why I don’t do it. I don’t really like following directions in the kitchen, but I can make an exception for pizza.
I spend a lot of time thinking about protein. I get about 120g per day which is almost the minimum for my weight. I’ve seen articles recommending 1-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight when you’re active. Because I weigh 244lbs (today), and my goal is 200lbs, I think I should just target the goal weight quantity. So, let’s do some chicken this week. That’ll help right? Of course, Kenji’s got me covered.
That mini-muffin pan is one of the best weight-loss buys I’ve made. 24 little slots to fill with goodness. I haven’t ever used it for muffins though. Because muffins suck. Meatballs win every time. These things are fun too. Some eggs and some low cal sausage and you have little breakfast party bites that run about 29 calories a pop. Go get these things: Ingredient Quantity Eggs 4 Egg Whites 4 Red Bell Pepper 1 Mushrooms 11 Green Onions 6ish?
Ingredient Quantity Tomatillos 6 Jalapeños 3 Garlic 5 Cloves Onion 1/2 Large Pork Juice Whatever you got This salsa comes from the desire to use the rendered pork juices from the carnitas. I decided to make it a separate recipe because I might want to modify it in the future. Roast the red ingredients on the grill until their skins are charred. Remove any stems you can. Throw your blue ingredients in to the blender with the roasted red ingredients.
Kenji seems to have superpowers. I like everything I’ve made with his guidance, and I’m hoping that this is no exception. I love me some carnitas and I think that trimming off the fat will fit well in my diet. I found 16 lbs of Pork Butt (Shoulder) at Costco. Only when I got home did I realize that it might have been a bit of overkill. I put half in the freezer for some other adventure.
This is my standard Gumbo. Alton Brown posted a recipe for inspiration, but I really just do whatever I feel like. I feel like I can deviate a bit because I don’t have a Bayou Grandma to yell at me. I’m not about to go hunting for filè powder when I’m cooking for the week. Ingredient Quantity Flour, Wheat, All Purpose 4 Tablespoons Butter, Salted 4 Tablespoons Onion, Yellow, Chopped 1 Cup Garlic, Clove, Halved 6 Peppers, Bell, Medium, Diced 2 Celery, Diced 1 Cup Red Chili Flakes some Granulated Garlic some Cumin some Celery Salt some Black Pepper lots Smoked Paprika some Stock, Chicken 2 Cups Tomatoes, Diced, No Salt 4 Cups Okra, Wheels 4 Cups Basil Leaves 12 Make your roux first with the red ingredients.
Basics with Babish inspired me to make some stock. Ingredient Chicken Spines and Wings White Onions Oil Celery Carrots Leeks Parsnips Turnips Garlic (entire head) Fresh Thyme Fresh Parsley Whole Peppercorns Tasty Water Brown the red ingredients in your stock pot. Make them good and brown then deglaze with some water. Dump in the quartered green ingredients ingredients and fill the pot with water. BARE simmer for 4-12 hours. Strain the boiling liquid directly in to your mouth.