What did you cook today?

[ronnie_suburban]

Last home-cooked dinner before heading into a 3-day stretch of not cooking dinner. Pretty sure this will be the first time that's happened since last March. Meanwhile, on successive nights, we went from Passover brisket clear over to the other side of the spectrum . . .


Oiled & Seasoned Pork Roast
A nicely fatty roast. You can tell from the quality of the string job that it was trussed professionally by the crew at my butcher's shop. We're still going strong on the Manale rub, which seems to be a great fit on just about everything we've been cooking lately.


Napa Cabbage & Konosuke SKD Tsuchime Gyuto, 210mm
Simple prep here. 4 edge-to-edge cuts across the core of the cabbage to create 8 sectors, then you gently pull them apart. From there, just lay the sections out on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with evoo and dust them with a rub of your choice (of course, we Manale'd it). Roast at 425F for about 45 minutes, turning it halfway through.


Pork Roast & Konosuke SKD Tsuchime Gyuto, 210mm
About 2.5 hours @ 200F, which took it to 135F internal. Followed that with 8 minutes @450 convection roast, rotating it after 4.


Sourdough Bread & Kohetsu 1K6 Bread Knife, 240mm
This beautiful and delicious loaf was baked for us by gastro gnome as a thank you for something I bought and gave to him. We definitely got the better end of that deal! He mentioned that it was ~85/15 white/whole wheat. A perfectly crusty crust and a tender, moist crumb, with great flavor all the way through the chew. Fwiw, the knife easily cleared its way through the crusty exterior of the loaf.


Plated Up
Pork roast, roasted napa cabbage and home-baked bread. It doesn't get much better than this.

[ronnie_suburban]

Saturday omelet, showcasing some more of the excellent gastro gnome sourdough . . .


Salami & Cheese Omelet
With buttered gastro gnome sourdough toast and a "ronnie" cake, which was using up the end of the leftover mixture of almond flour and grated hard cheese from other night's keto-friendly fried chicken coating (plus an egg to help bind it).

[ChefKnivesToGo]

Pizza night last night.

Onions, pepperoni and some kind of green stuff on the top.

[gastro gnome]

Fwiw, the knife easily cleared its way through the crusty exterior of the loaf.

How did I miss this Kohetsu bread knife drop? My Tojiro still seems to be doing the job, but I'll keep an eye on this.

[ronnie_suburban]

Onions, pepperoni and some kind of green stuff on the top.

Looks great. Maybe some form of arugula?

[jacko9]

For starters I'm doing a cast iron skillet breakfast. Just cooking the onions, serrano and jalapeño and red chili flakes with garlic and spices before adding the egg and cheddar cheese. Tonight is ham, mac and cheese.

Whats with this error message?

"The image file you tried to attach is invalid."

This is a .jpg picture file like many others I have attached in the past?

The note under attachments indicates max file size of 4 MiB and my file is 1.8 MiB so ?

[XexoX]

For starters I'm doing a cast iron skillet breakfast. Just cooking the onions, serrano and jalapeño and red chili flakes with garlic and spices before adding the egg and cheddar cheese. Tonight is ham, mac and cheese.

Whats with this error message?

"The image file you tried to attach is invalid."

This is a .jpg picture file like many others I have attached in the past?

Some peoples have been having issues with pictures, but check the size of the file. If it is too big, it won't post. I can't remember the max size, but I think that message is what you get when it is too big. But don't quote me on that. That was off the record.

[playingfetch]

For starters I'm doing a cast iron skillet breakfast. Just cooking the onions, serrano and jalapeño and red chili flakes with garlic and spices before adding the egg and cheddar cheese. Tonight is ham, mac and cheese.

Whats with this error message?

"The image file you tried to attach is invalid."

This is a .jpg picture file like many others I have attached in the past?

The note under attachments indicates max file size of 4 MiB and my file is 1.8 MiB so ?

I've shrunken the images to where they were are 0.1 MiB and they wouldn't post. But I just tried again and now it's working. Looks like a technical issue that might be resolved?

Here's leg of lamb from Saturday night paired with a highly underrated but excellent wine. My kids have been eating a ton of fresh vegetables lately so there's been lots of chopping at my house.

[jacko9]

For starters I'm doing a cast iron skillet breakfast. Just cooking the onions, serrano and jalapeño and red chili flakes with garlic and spices before adding the egg and cheddar cheese. Tonight is ham, mac and cheese.

Whats with this error message?

"The image file you tried to attach is invalid."

This is a .jpg picture file like many others I have attached in the past?

Some peoples have been having issues with pictures, but check the size of the file. If it is too big, it won't post. I can't remember the max size, but I think that message is what you get when it is too big. But don't quote me on that. That was off the record.

Ah ha - I think it's working now. Plated with hot sauce on top

[ronnie_suburban]

Here's leg of lamb from Saturday night paired with a highly underrated but excellent wine. My kids have been eating a ton of fresh vegetables lately so there's been lots of chopping at my house.

Very nice. And what a bonus with the kids. I remember when my son decided, at a very young age, that he loved salad. A big win that paid dividends for years to come.

Ah ha - I think it's working now. Plated with hot sauce on top

Yes sir, Senator! If by "working" you mean making my mouth water, you are correct. That is right up my alley!

Today, after 3 days off, I definitely felt like cooking but with work, time was limited, so a couple of quick, after-work tasks. Started with the weekly slaw . . .


Green Cabbage & Konosuke SKD Tsuchime Gyuto, 210mm
This was a big boy; just over 1100g after coring, trimming and slicing.


Coleslaw
Mostly cabbage, a grated carrot, some juicy sweet onion pulp and some other business.

Next up, one of my favorite ways to get RID of stuff: cauliflower fried 'rice'. . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke SKD Tsuchime Gyuto, 210mm
Shallots, crushed garlic, microplaned ginger, kabanos, white pepper, mung bean sprouts, peanut oil, riced cauliflower, fried shallot oil, leftover pork loin roast, leftover brisket, carrots, five spice powder (this only went into the eggs), toasted sesame oil, lap cheong, scallion tops, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, onions, scallion bottoms, frozen peas and five spice-scrambled eggs. I think it would have been easier to list the ingredients I didn't use! I made a conscious effort to leave the oyster sauce out this time but in the end, I added a few dashes because after tasting it, I felt like it needed it.

Fwiw, that Konosuke was a tremendous all-arounder, handling every job I threw at it during this prep.


Plated Up
'Four Meat' Cauliflower Fried Rice, garnished with scallion tops and Lao Gan Man chili crisp, and served with my favorite side dish, natural light!

Happy Monday!

[jacko9]

Yes and to wash down that great meal - a bottle of Topo Chico mineral water, even though I mix mine with a little Havana Rum

[ronnie_suburban]

Yes and to wash down that great meal - a bottle of Topo Chico mineral water, even though I mix mine with a little Havana Rum

Frankly, I'm beginning to think that every beverage should be adorned with rum . . . or bourbon. In fact, maybe the beverage itself isn't even necessary!

[Jeff B]

Bourbon is it's own food group here in Kentucky!

[ronnie_suburban]

Bourbon is it's own food group here in Kentucky!

Starts with at least 51% corn, so absolutely!

[smcmaui]

Miso glazed salmon over jasmine rice with a fresh salad prepared from the garden

[ronnie_suburban]

Made a very quick and satisfying after-work curry tonight . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke SKD Tsuchime Gyuto, 210mm
Shallots, basil leaves, bamboo shoots, Maesri red curry paste, Thai bird chiles, kaffir lime leaves, extra firm tofu, fried shallot oil, Bangkok spice blend, cremini mushrooms, coconut milk, zucchini, 4x gelatinous chicken stock, fish sauce and boneless, skinless chicken thigh pieces.

There's been some curry discord in the Suburban household lately. The last few batches were too spicy for everyone but me. In order to keep everyone happy, I've been systematically dialing it back. Tonight, I only used two of the chiles in the shot above, pounding them gently and leaving them whole. I used a mere sprinkling of the Bangkok spice on the chicken before I sauteed it in the fried shallot oil. And I used the Three Crabs fish sauce, which is the sweetest of the ones I have in my pantry. The result was at the very tame end of my spiciness preference but everyone else was very pleased. So, I think I have a template going forward.

I've had some fun with that Konosuke SKD lately. It's such a stellar, all-around performer, it's hard to put anything else on the board. But I plan to make myself move on to some other knives very soon.


Plated Up
Red Curry Chicken, garnished with scallion greens, served over brown jasmine rice.

[smcmaui]

looks good, would love the recipe

[ronnie_suburban]

looks good, would love the recipe

It's become more of a 'winging it' situation over time but my starting point was this youtube video by Pailin, which is a great resource. There's really no end to the variations you can apply to it.

Tonight, I tried to recreate a great green bean dish I had at Prairie Grass Cafe over the weekend. I failed miserably at mimicking it but still ended up with something pretty good (that, happily, my family really liked) . . .


Mise En Place & Makoto Coreless Damascus Gyuto, 210mm
Garlic scapes, sliced garlic, fried shallot oil, spring onion greens, white wine, 4x gelatinous chicken stock, black pepper, salt and shallots.

The PGC dish was green beans in a ramp mash. In lieu of ramps (hope to get some next week), I attempted the dish using spring onion greens. I started by sauteing the garlic, garlic scapes and shallots in fried shallot oil. Once they sweated a bit, I added some stock and a dash of wine. After it all softened, I let it reduce for a couple of minutes, then seasoned it with salt and pepper.


Sauteed & Softened Melange

After it cooked down a while, I pureed it with the stick blender. This is when the obvious occurred to me: spring onion greens do not possess anywhere close to the flavor intensity of ramps. I poured the meek, mild-mannered, pureed mash into a small sauce pan, reduced it further and continued to tweak it along the way with a bunch of items that were not in my initial mise (worcestershire sauce, Manale spice rub, Golden Mountain and msg). What I ended up with was tasty, and made a very nice "sauce" for the green beans (which were sauteed to tender-crisp separately) but it was nothing close to the dish I was trying to emulate. In a shocking outcome, my green beans basically sucked when compare to the ones made by a two-time James Beard Award-winning chef. Go figure!


Ready For Service
Tender-crisp green beans in spring onion sprout puree, garnished with a pulverized parmesan/romano blend. I also garnished my individual serving with some red chile flakes. The rest of dinner was the end of our leftover Passover brisket, reheated, which was still very good.

[ronnie_suburban]

Fairly decent attempt at a few Thai dishes tonight . . .


Mise En Place & CCK Small Cleaver
Rough schematic for pad ka-prao. Thai (not holy) basil, oyster sauce, fried shallot oil (have it, so why not?), dark sweet soy sauce, fish sauce, Golden Mountain seasoning sauce, hand-minced pork neck and garlic/shallot/Thai bird chiles in the mortar.

Getting closer to finding Thai holy basil (and I plan on growing my own this summer) but this standard, Thai variety was a very nice step up from genovese in this dish. I considered breaking out the meat grinder with a large-holed cutter for the pork neck but I opted for the CCK instead, and had fun with it. At one point I had it in one hand and my Dexter cleaver in the other, and I briefly entered berserker mode. Happily, the name Ronnie Nine Fingers does not apply


Mortar & Pestle
Getting better with the m&p, too. Had to put on some reading glasses while doing this because the vapors from the chiles and shallots were really making me tear up.

Since I was also able to find Japanese-variety eggplant, I decided on Thai-style broiled eggplant salad as a side . . .


Eggplant Mise En Place & Katayama VG10 Suminagashi Gyuto 210mm
Palm sugar, shallots, key limes, cilantro leaves, fish sauce, Japanese eggplant, hard boiled eggs and Thai bird chiles.
Good thing they gave me these key limes when I carried out from the taqueria because all the limes I had at home were totally gross. They were a bit more tart than Persian limes but I made them work in the dressing.


Thai-Style Broiled Eggplant Salad
Eggplant pieces are split down the middle, brushed with oil and broiled for ~12 minutes. After that, the salad is dressed and garnished on the platter. I love this dish and definitely do not make it enough. However, now that I'm getting out and about a bit more, I think it'll be easier to source the right eggplants. Yes, you can use larger varieties but they just don't work as well.


Plated Up
Pad Ka-Prao. Definitely my best iteration to date. The Thai basil made a huge difference and even though I doubled the recipe, I did not double the amount of Golden Mountain. I think that may have been the key. For my palate, it needs to be in there but less is definitely more.

[ronnie_suburban]

More pork tonight. Leaving last night's pork neck pad ka-prao behind, tonight it was charcoal-grilled tenderloin. But first, there was some side-dishery . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke HD Petty, 120mm
Found another crazy-old bottle of varietal Spanish evoo. By all accounts, this should be beyond rancid but again, it's still in working order. Going to work through it asap, before that changes.


Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Garlic, Lemon & Red Chile Flakes
This one has become a real crowd-pleaser at Chez Suburban.


Salad
Romaine, arugula and campari tomatoes. I was feeling lazy, so I ended up dressing this with some store-bought dressing.


Plated Up
Charcoal-grilled pork tenderloin and sauteed broccoli rabe. Trimmed, trussed, oiled and seasoned before it hit the grill, I pulled the tenderloin off when it reached 135F. That seemed just about right.