What did you cook today?

[Kalaeb]

Got our hands on some secretos, which I've most often heard described as pork skirt steaks. They're pretty similar to their beef counterparts in appearance and texture . . .


Secretos
Salt and pepper. I trimmed these a bit and they were still really fatty. I would have loved to have taken a picture of the 2-foot flames that flared up when these were directly over the coals on my Weber. Instead, I though it'd be a better use of my time moving the steaks and effectively extinguishing the fire.


Plated Up
Secreto with conehead cabbage coleslaw (still?!) and leftover beans and creamed spinach from yesterday's carry-out dinner from Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, IL (my friends' restaurant). This was a really nice dinner, especially the PGC leftovers. I miss eating at restaurants.

Nice, I drive through Northbrook a couple of times a week I will have to check our Prairie Grass.

[Mike9]

Looks like what I trim off the whole spare rib - (the part that I like best). That would make some awesome carnitas.

[ronnie_suburban]

Looks like what I trim off the whole spare rib - (the part that I like best). That would make some awesome carnitas.

Definitely. And that'd be the smart way to go because when sold as secreto, it's a little pricey. If you're going through a few slabs, you could accumulate a nice stash for a meal or two.

[unclemike]

Made some bread. “Country style” with 10% white whole wheat flour. First I’ve made in a while.

[gladius]

Grilling outside may not happen this holiday, it is hotter than I’ve ever seen it here in SoCal - I’m about 50 miles from the ocean!

[Mike9]

Mussels Marinara my way - fresh roast tomato sauce, red, onion, celery tops, roast garlic, anchovy paste, white wine, peperoncino, salt,pepper and of course organic PEI mussels served with bronze die cut pasta. Really nice end of Summer meal.

[ronnie_suburban]

Mussels Marinara my way - fresh roast tomato sauce, red, onion, celery tops, roast garlic, anchovy paste, white wine, peperoncino, salt,pepper and of course organic PEI mussels served with bronze die cut pasta. Really nice end of Summer meal.

Very nice. Kind of like a marinara/puttanesca mash-up. Speaking of end of summer, I made what I expect will be my last batch of bread & butter pickles today . . .


Sliced Cucumbers, Onions & Peppers
Not exactly my favorite cutting device but with about 7 pounds of cucumbers to process, it made the most sense.


Jarred Up
2 half-gallons, 1 quart and 1 pint.

I often feel like a vegetable traffic controller this time of year.

[ronnie_suburban]

Youtube has been a virtually unlimited source of culinary inspiration for me through the pandemic. Case in point are the Shrimp Vegetable Rolls from Magic Ingredients that I attempted to riff on recently. They were time-consuming and things didn't go 100% according to plan. Still, they were delicious and I learned a few things I can take away for the future from having done it . . .


Mise En Place
Diced Shrimp
(shrimp, white pepper, grated ginger, soy sauce, corn starch, peanut oil)
Dipping Sauce
(scallion greens, crushed garlic, red chili flakes, sesame seeds, salt, hot peanut oil, Chinese vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, granulated sugar, water)
Scrambled Eggs
(eggs, salt, canola oil)
Scallions
(scallions, baking soda, peanut oil)
Sauteed Mushrooms
(sliced creminis, Chinese cooking wine, Chinese vinegar, crushed garlic, 5-Spice Powder)


Rolled Out Dough
With oil added, this was a very stretchy dough.


Nearly Transparent Dough
Got it very thin (just like in the video, I thought) . . . maybe a bit too thin.


Placing The Fillings
The "original" recipe did not include the mushrooms but I had some on hand and decided to include them. This may have caused problems later. Even though I sauteed them and removed most of their moisture, they still may have imparted some unwanted moisture into the dish. Also, their very presence meant that I was likely to have an overfilled roll, since I didn't really cut anything else back.


Rolling Up The Roll
The dough was very elastic but still stuck to the board in a few places, in spite of keeping it floured. I was still able to roll it all up.


Rolled Up Roll
At this point, it looked so much like the one from the youtube video I was beside myself. A classic case of celebrating too early.


Steamer Improvisation
This was not the right steamer for the job but it was all I had and it did a decent job even though it was too small (even after removing the wire handles to maximize its capacity). The woman in the video used a towel, just like what is shown here. That was another misstep (for me), as it led to a bit of sticking after the steaming. I had both cabbage and parchment paper on hand but in the heat of the moment, neither came to mind. D'oh!!

After 15 minutes in the steamer, the roll was "done." Clearly, the wrapper was too thin and the roll was overfilled (to paraphrase Tom Petty, Damn The Mushrooms!). This led to it breaking in a few places and, as I mentioned above, sticking to the towel a bit. With a bit of patience I was able to separate it from the towel without creating much more damage.

From the beginning I'd envisioned going my own way at the end and pan-frying the roll to get it crispy (not done in the video), so that's what I did. I managed to get the roll into a hot pan with some peanut oil, flipped over and out on the pan without doing too much damage but clearly, there was some.


Plated Up
Shrimp Vegetable Roll, steamed and pan-fried. There's some breakage but I have to say that in spite of that, this was really delicious. The sauce alone is something I'll definitely be making again in the future. It'll be great on mid-range Chinese delivery. But there was a lot more to take away, too. The flavors were great and these were ingredients I never would have thought to combine in this way. Some lessons learned, for sure.

The recipe actually makes 2 dough balls and I still have the second one in reserve. So, I might take another stab at this in the next couple of days, but I'll be sure to not overfill if I do.

[Altadan]

Oh man! Ronnie, this looks something something!
I read half and I was already saying, "Wife! Roll out some dough - we gotta try something!"
Steamer, though... hmmm

[Mike9]

When I make Wellington I cook my duxelles in a dry pan - no oil, or butter. This insures they are as dry so as not to ruin the pastry.

[ronnie_suburban]

Oh man! Ronnie, this looks something something!
I read half and I was already saying, "Wife! Roll out some dough - we gotta try something!"
Steamer, though... hmmm

Yeah, I'd be teeing this one up again today if I had the right equipment. Two-tied bamboo steamer baskets are available all over the place online, many for under $20, so I'll probably grab one sooner than later.

When I make Wellington I cook my duxelles in a dry pan - no oil, or butter. This insures they are as dry so as not to ruin the pastry.

Interesting. I'll try this. Do you cook them without seasoning, too? I find that no matter how I cook them, mushrooms exude some moisture.

[Bob Z]

Yesterday and today:
Some yummy imported Basmati, garden grown mini plum tomatoes, chicken cutlet and broccoli with gobs of hollandaise!

Today, some sourdough discard waffles. These are the bomb if you like the buttermilk sourdough type of taste.

[ronnie_suburban]

With apologies to the purists once again, it was Fried (riced) Cauliflower over here tonight . . .


Mise En Place
Cleaning out the fridge a little bit by using some leftover smoked sausage and sauteed mushrooms, along with scallions (2 ways), carrots and peas from the produce drawer, plus some other business.


Fried (riced) Cauliflower with Shrimp
A heaping, steaming bowl.


Plated Up
My serving . . . complete with a generous drizzle of homemade chili oil (because the family prefers it if I don't add chili oil to the entire batch).

Happy Monday!

[Mike9]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE2omM_NoXU

The man can actually cook. He learned from the best of the best.

[Bob Z]

It was Pad Thai time! In this case pix not as good as it was but the lighting in my kitchen is bad. Lots of shrimp, fried egg, green onions, pea pods, mung bean sprouts and of course lots of peanuts. Btw, for shrimp Costco shrimp is the best I think cause of no preservatives, its so firm you have to try it if you havent already.
Yea I know I didnt make the sauce from scratch, but there are so many ingredients I dont usually have on hand i used this sauce which I have used lots of times and its good.

[Jeff B]

With apologies to the purists once again, it was Fried (riced) Cauliflower over here tonight . . .


Mise En Place
Cleaning out the fridge a little bit by using some leftover smoked sausage and sauteed mushrooms, along with scallions (2 ways), carrots and peas from the produce drawer, plus some other business.


Fried (riced) Cauliflower with Shrimp
A heaping, steaming bowl.


Plated Up
My serving . . . complete with a generous drizzle of homemade chili oil (because the family prefers it if I don't add chili oil to the entire batch).

Happy Monday!

Refrigerator leftovers fried rice is a staple in this house!

[ronnie_suburban]

Had some cremini mushrooms I needed to use up and decided to try something new (for me) . . .


Shallots & Kurosaki R2 Hammered Gyuto, 210mm
Probably about a dozen shallots. They'll be nearing 'use it or lose it' time soon but were still in good shape tonight.


Sauteed Creminis & Shallots
I sauteed each of these separately. I actually flambe'd the mushrooms with brandy. That was fun and scary -- for a moment -- until the flames subsided.


Filling The Lined Loaf Pan
In the end, it was about 2 pounds of sliced, sauteed & brandy-flambe'd mushrooms and 12 minced & sauteed shallots, combined with a mixture of half & half, beaten eggs and dijon mustard.


Bain Marie
My bain marie is actually a pan I often use to catch drippings in my smoker but it worked well here. I guessed 80 minutes @ 300F (finger-poked it after 60) and that worked out just about right.

I put the terrine in early because I wanted it to have plenty of time to set after it cooked. While it cooked, I got a roast ready and into the oven . . .


Bone-In Berkshire Pork Roast
Oiled, seasoned, racked and ready for roasting. 325F for just over two hours.


Weighing The Terrine Down
After the terrine had cooked, I cut a piece of cardboard, wrapped it in foil and plastic and used it -- along with some other handy kitchen items -- to help compress it just a bit.

As the terrine set, the roast finished . . .


Roasted Pork
I cooked it to about 140 internal, since I knew there'd be carry-over. It rested for about 20 minutes before the internal temperature reached 152F and began to drop.


Terrine Unmolded
Jiggly but firm enough to handle. Beginner's luck.


Mushroom Terrine
On a bed of fading greens dressed with evoo and red wine vinegar.


Mushroom Terrine & Lightly Dressed Greens and Pork Roast

[Bob Z]

I dunno Ronnie, that looks amazing and a ton of work!, but Im gonna bet that wasnt an Anyru B2 210 in the photo, going for Kurosaki.

[ronnie_suburban]

I dunno Ronnie, that looks amazing and a ton of work!, but Im gonna bet that wasnt an Anyru B2 210 in the photo, going for Kurosaki.

D'oh! You're right. I'll go back and fix that shortly. And it really wasn't very much work. So much easier than an a la minute meal. Thanks!

[ronnie_suburban]

It's been a late but steady harvest here and we're finally getting our homegrown tomatoes. Recently paired them up with some homemade bacon to make BLTs for a family lunch . . .


BLT Sandwich
Homemade Kurobuta Bacon, homegrown green zebra tomato and grocery store iceberg lettuce on home-baked (by a friend) bread.


BLT Sandwich
Homemade Kurobuta Bacon, homegrown green zebra tomato and grocery store iceberg lettuce on toasted buttercrust white bread.