Category Archives: Food

Pork and Beans

Recipe, ,

1 1/4 cups multi-bean soup mix
6 cups water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. pork roast, cubed
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt

  1. Rinse beans and soak overnight in 3 cups water; or boil beans in 6 cups water for 5 minutes, then cover and soak for 1 hour.
  2. Rinse beans and return to pot with 6 cups water. Loosely cover and simmer for 2 hours.
  3. Saute onion and garlic in oil, then add to beans.
  4. Sear pork and add to beans.
  5. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until meat and beans are tender, approx. 1 hour.  Add water as necessary to adjust thickness.

Snickerdoodles

Recipe,

1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 ¾ cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

  1. Mix sugar, butter, and eggs in large bowl.
  2. Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Form dough into 1¼” balls and roll in cinnamon sugar.
  4. Bake at 400F (205C) 8-10 minutes, until set (they will not look quite done).

Praline Truffles

Recipe, ,

Praline:

1 cup hazelnuts (or mixture of nuts)
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. water

  • Bake hazelnuts in a single layer 10-15 minutes at 350°F.
  • Wrap in kitchen towel and rest for 1 minute.
  • Rub hazelnuts in towel to remove loose skins (don’t worry about skins that don’t come off) and cool completely.
  • Combine sugar and water in saucepan and cook over medium heat until it is clear amber and the edges start to foam, about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, add hazelnuts, and pour onto parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
  • Break up and process in process in food processor until paste.

Filling:

4 oz. hazelnut praline
3 oz. milk chocolate
1 oz. semisweet chocolate

  • Microwave chocolate 30 sec. at a time, stirring between each heating until melted.
  • Combine with hazelnut praline, mix thoroughly, and chill.

Truffles:

2 oz. milk chocolate
2 oz. semisweet chocolate

  • Microwave 2 oz. of milk chocolate and 1 oz. of semisweet chocolate 30 sec. at a time, stirring between each heating, until smooth and shiny.
  • Add remaining chocolate and stir until smooth.
  • Cut filling into even sized pieces, coat with tempered chocolate, and place on parchment-lined baking sheet and chill.
  • Allow to harden for a few minutes and serve at room temperature.

Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe, ,

Filling:

1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. ketchup
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
3/8 cup chicken broth
3/8 cup beer
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. thyme, minced
1/2 cup frozen peas

  • Saute onion and carrot in butter until onions are caramelized and tender, about 8 min.
  • Add beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, about 6 min.
  • Add flour and tomato paste, and cook until paste starts to darken, about 1 min.
  • Add cream and cook about 1 min.
  • Add broth, beer, soy sauce and thyme. Simmer until thickened but still saucy, about 5 min.
  • Remove from heat, add peas, season with salt and pepper, and add to casserole dish.

Topping:

1 lb. potatoes
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. heavy cream

  • Cut potatoes and boil until tender. Drain and mash with butter and cream.
  • Spread potatoes over filling, smooth top and then make ridges with a fork.
  • Bake at 375F (190C) for 15 min., until bubbling.
  • Broil (high) for 3-5 min., until golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and cool for 10 min. before serving.

Sausage Gravy

Recipe, , ,

sausage:

1 lb. ground pork
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. brown sugar

  • Mix all ingredients

gravy:

1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

  • Brown sausage until finely crumbled.
  • Add flour and mix well.  The sausage drippings should be fully absorbed by the flour.
  • Add milk and spices, and heat on medium heat until bubbling and thickened.
  • Serve over biscuits.

I generally make 1/2 lb. of the sausage into patties and brown the other half in the same pan, then halve the rest of the recipe.

Saison Bruxellensis

Beer, Recipe,

8½ lbs. Belgian Pilsner malt
½ lb. Vienna malt
½ lb. Munich malt (60L)
1 lb. clear candi sugar (syrup or rocks)

1 oz. Styrian Goldings hop pellets

½ oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets
1 tsp. Irish moss
½ tsp. bitter orange peel

¼ oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets

WLP 565 Belgian saison yeast
WLP 650 Brett Bruxellensis yeast

  • Heat 10½ quarts of water to 180°F, add to mash tun and rest until temperature drops to 170°F.
  • Mash grains at 150°-156°F for 60 minutes, until starch test shows conversion is complete.
  • Collect wort slowly while sparing with 5 gallons of 200°F water.
  • Collect 6.5 gallons, with a gravity of 1.040 (10.0 Brix).
  • Add candi sugar to bring gravity up to 1.048 (11.8 Brix).
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Boil 30 minutes and add SG hop pellets.
  • Boil 45 minutes and add ½ oz. EKG hop pellets, Irish moss and orange peel.
  • Boil 10 minutes and add ¼ oz. EKG hop pellets.
  • Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat.
  • Chill using wort chiller, rack to sterile fermentor, and dilute to 1.057 (14 Brix).  Or rack to sterile fermentor while hot, dilute, and chill with ice bath or allow to cool to room temperature overnight.
  • Pitch yeast when temperature is below 80°F and seal with airlock.  Fermentation should begin within 24 hours.
  • Ferment until gravity drops to 1.017 (8 Brix).
  • Keg and force carbonate, or bottle (I use Northern Brewer’s priming sugar calculator to determine how much priming sugar to use).

Yield: 5 gallons, ABV: 5.5%, IBU: 27.5

Depression-Era Vegan Chocolate Cake

Recipe, ,

1½ cups flour
¹/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup water
1½ tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. cider or white vinegar

  • Mix dry ingredients.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients.
  • Combine and whisk until smooth.
  • Tap mixing bowl or drop from 6 inches to shake out air bubbles.
  • Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool before removing from pan.
  • Dust with powdered sugar or frost as desired.

Source: http://food52.com/blog/8614-margaret-fox-s-amazon-chocolate-cake

Chicken Soup

Recipe, ,

11/2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 onion
2 carrots
3 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme (or five sprigs fresh)
1/4 tsp. rosemary (or two sprigs fresh)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
salt and pepper
3 cups chicken stock or bouillon

1/3 cup milk or heavy cream

  • Cube chicken and chop vegetables.
  • In 6-qt. pot, melt butter.  Sauté chicken and vegetables until chicken is browned, about 5 minutes.
  • Reduce heat, add herbs and stock, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Add cream and simmer for 15 minutes, keeping simmer very low to avoid curdling the cream.

Apple Butter

Recipe,

5 apples (1.5 – 2 lbs.)
5 cups water
1 Tbsp. vinegar

  • Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, until apples are very tender
  • Strain apple pulp and water through a sieve, the return to pan (will be thin like apple cider)

1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 lemon, juice and zest

  • Add to pan and simmer until thickened (approx. 2 hours)
  • Refrigerate and use promptly, or can to preserve longer

Yield: 1 cup
Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_butter/

Fruit of the Week: Quince

Cocktails, Food,
Photo: Rhododendrites

We decided to start trying random produce that we’ve never had before, in theory picking one each week at the grocery store or wherever.  The first one we tried is quince — which look a lot like pears, and are a lot like pears, except that they need to be cooked before they are edible.

Trust me on this — I read that they were tough and astringent before cooking, but decided to eat a tiny chunk when preparing them, and it was so mouth-puckeringly terrible that I had to spit it out and rinse my mouth out.

But once cooked, they are very much like pears.  We had them for breakfast as a topping for biscuits, with some of the syrup.

Poached Quince

3 quinces, peeled, cored and sliced
4 cups water
1½ cups sugar
1 stick cinnamon
5 cloves
3 orange slices

  • Peel quinces with a potato peeler, then cut quince flesh off the core by slicing slightly off center.  Note: to prevent discolor
  • Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a simmer.
  • Add remaining ingredients

But we kept most of the syrup to make cocktails with:

Quince Collins

1½ oz. dry gin
1½ oz. quince syrup
juice from ½ lime
ice
6 oz. club soda