Monday, January 10, 2011

Sunday: pork and parsnip stew, biscuits

I had a craving for biscuits and a stew seemed like a good accompaniment.

For the biscuits I used the usual recipe from Bittman.

For the stew I used pork shoulder, smoked bacon, some turkey (remainders from the pot pie makings), leek, yellow carrots, parsnips, fennel, white wine, tomato paste, fennel seed, yellow mustard seed, and some beef bouillon.

To go with the rest of the goodness I did a chopped salad with spitzkohl and granny smith apples.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Saturday: Fusion curry + lemon rice

A recipe from Alles Klar that needed to be made: beef filet in red curry with lemon-basmati rice. I pretty much followed the recipe aside from the cooking in jars part... I cooked everything normally. :-)

To accompany I made a salad of chopped napa cabbage, fresh mint, lime juice, fish sauce, and sesame oil.

Really nice food; moving the sour elements from the curry to the rice is an interesting shift.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Friday: turkey pot pie

A simple pot pie:

Brown some diced turkey breast in neutral oil, set aside. Saute sliced leek, chopped onion, diced carrot, celery, potato, and parsnip, and minced garlic in the same pan. After a few minutes add white wine, some chicken bouillon, pepper, rosemary, sage, a bit of oregano, mustard, carrot juice (leftover from last week), and some water. Bring to a simmer and then add corn starch to thicken. Add back the turkey and adjust seasonings. Transfer to serving-size oven-safe containers (I used our french onion soup bowls), top with puff pastry, and bake at 175C until the puff pastry is ready, about 30 minutes.

Together with a big green salad, this made for a really nice winter meal.

Friday, January 07, 2011

Thursday: potatoes cooked with sherry, pork chops

There were a bunch of small potatoes from the biokiste that needed to be used...

Cut some new potatoes in half lengthwise and put them in a single layer in a hot pan with some olive oil. Cook ~5 minutes. Add a good quantity of sherry, salt, cumin, chopped garlic, chopped red onion, cover, and let simmer until the potatoes are done. Serve topped with parsley and chives.

For the pork: season pork loin chops well and pan-fry them. Drizzle with sherry vinegar and olive oil and top with parsley and chives before serving.

Serve with a big green salad.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Tuesday: Beets layered with beef and goat cheese

I'm not really sure where this idea to use up the beef that didn't end up in the hotpot came from, but I'm definitely glad it came.

Make a vinaigrette from sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt, ras al hanout, black pepper, a bit of mashed garlic, and a pinch of of brown sugar.

For the beef: cut some steak into 2-4mm slices, sear the slices in a very hot pan, toss them with some vinaigrette and set aside.

For the beets: peel and slice them (1cm thick) and steam until tender.

Layer the sliced beets with, strips of beef, sliced goat cheese (we used a soft cheese with a rind for this), and vinaigrette.

As an accompaniment I made some basmati rice and served it topped with ras al hanout and chopped pistachios. That was a magical combination.

Great food.

Sunday, January 02, 2011

Saturday: black-eyed pea soup

When I was growing up we always used to do black-eyed peas on New Years day. I don't always succeed, but I do try to keep doing this.

This year's version was really simple: into the pressure cooker went black-eyed peas, diced onion, diced bacon, chicken bouillon, bay leaf, clove, thyme. After 15 minutes at pressure I served the soup with thinly sliced red onions that I killed with red-wine vinegar, salt, and a bit of brown sugar.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Friday: Szechuan Hot Pot

This seemed like a good one for New Years Eve. As with last time, I stuck reasonably close to the stock recipe in Land of Plenty. This time I strained the stock before putting it on the table - definitely a nice refinement.

Things we had on the table to toss in the hot pot: thinly sliced beef, smoked bacon, strips of chicken breast, spring onions, sliced mushroom, broccoli, carrots.

For dipping sauce(s): soy sauce, sesame oil, black vinegar, garlic.

I also did a salad of very thinly sliced red cabbage, lime juice, sesame oil, fish sauce, salt, and a bit of sugar.

Really good eating.