House Husbandry

Looking good and cheap! Bought a couple of pints.  Rinsed them.  Spread them out on a cookie sheet and popped them in the freeze for a about 90 minutes.  Then in a zip-loc bag.  Gonna like that some Sunday morning this fall when we have blueberry pancakes.

Got a huge chunk of pork belly at Costco a couple of weeks ago.  It was too fatty to use in a sugo and I'd never cooked with it before.  I didn't know what to do. It came as a big flat hunk of meat.  I'd chopped a strip of it off into fish-like chunks (or that's what I thought, maybe 2" x 2") and had frozen it.  Pulled it out of the freezer and let it defrost and set about making a marinade. I used about 1/4 cup or so soy sauce 1/4 cup or so mirin 1/4 cup or so of oyster sauce (finished the bottle) 1/4 cup or so of an Indonesian catsup that's been around for a while.  Label wore off.  We bought it when we were there a few years ago. lots of chopped garlic olive oil more garlic powder some powdered ginger, too I whisked all of the ingredients into a bowl and then poured it over the pork chunks that were still in a gallon-sized zip loc.  Initially it seemed too salty, but in the end it worked out, taste-wise.  Seal the bag, don't push the

So this works ... I read about it twice last week and I just had to try it.  Take something like garlic, I used three cloves, and slice it up really thin.  Toss a pinch of kosher salt into the bottom of a measuring cup and then toss those slices in on top.  Add another pinch for good measure.  Mash it up a bit and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes.  Add water to the 1/4 cup line.  Continue to let sit for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour or more. The result is a pungent, fragrant addition to your cooking with some superior garlic flavor.  I also tried this with basil and got similar, magnificent results.  Get creative!

Working on putting a dinner party together for Saturday night. Menu's been decided and I'm trying some things out in advance of the actual prep on Saturday.  Today I focused on a scallop amuse bouche, using a single sous-vide scallop, atop some beet horseradish.  I haven't tasted it yet, but it sure looks pretty. The scallops cook at 140 for just 30-40 minutes.  They've been turning out really nice.  I tried them this morning with defrosted scallops and also with frozen.  The frozen ones need to cook closer to the longer time.  The defrosted ones were pretty well done at the lower end of the time frame. Currently working on trying some vegetables.  I've cut some carrots up and added a little salt and pepper, as well as argan honey and a little butter.  There's also a beet sliced up with some capers, onion, and salt and pepper.  I can't wait to see how these turn out.  I haven't tied any vegetables yet.  They need to cook at 183 for at least an hour

1 small onion 1 small potato 5-6 large carrots 1 small piece of lemongrass 1 small piece of ginger Curry powder 1 can coconut milk 1 lime Cut ginger, lemongrass, onion and potato into small pieces and add to hot pot with olive oil. Saute for about 5 minutes or so.  Chop carrots and add to mix.  Saute for a bit and add the curry powder.  Add stock.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the carrots are soft.  Puree with an immersion blender or the old margarita maker.  Add cocount milk.  Blend a little longer to smooth it out some more.  Serve with a splash of lime juice.

It's cold, so it's time to make soup again. I made a Broccoli with Roasted Garlic soup yesterday that turned out quite well. 2 Heads Garlic 2 small onions 1 small potato 1 head of broccoli 4 cups of chicken stock Pre-heat oven to 400°F.  Slice the top off of the head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil.  Place on a baking sheet or in a garlic roaster and roast for at least 30 minutes.  Cool to handle. Chop onions and potato and saute in olive oil until the onions begin to get soft.  Coarsely chop the broccoli and add to the pot.  Add garlic now that you can handle it.  Add stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches with a regular margarita blender. Season to taste.  Wasn't that easy?