Sunday: tacos

On Saturday we picked some corn tortillas up in Zurich, so tacos were a high priority.

The filling: brown some seasoned beef stew meat then set it aside and pour out most of the fat. Add diced onion and mashed garlic, freshly ground cumin and coriander, and some ripped up dried guajillo chiles; cook a few minutes until the onion softens. Add about a Tbs each of ketchup and tomato paste and cook another couple minutes. Return the beef to the pan and add just enough water to about cover it. Cover the pot and simmer for a few hours, until the beef is falling apart. Add a small amount of ground cloves and cinnamon, more cumin, and some freshly ground black pepper and serve.

The baked rice: cook diced onion and garlic with whole cumin until the onion is soft. Add a cup of rice and cook a couple more minutes. Add 2cups water and chopped canned tomatoes along with a tsp of sweet paprika and some chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil, cover, and bake at 175 for 15 minutes then let stand for another 10-15 minutes before serving.

The sides:

• Corn salad: corn, diced red pepper, minced onion, minced garlic, cider vinegar, salt, rape-seed oil, chipotle tabasco, salt
  
• Cole slaw: napa cabbage and shredded carrot with a dressing from mayo, mustard, rape-seed oil, white balsamico, tabasco, salt, ground coriander

Goooood eating

Saturday: pork and beans

Toss some dried white beans, onion, garlic, bay leaf, clove, chicken bouillon, sweet and hot paprikas, black pepper, diced smoked ham, and water in the pressure cooker. Bring to pressure and cook 15 minutes. Serve topped with good olive oil, chives, and parsley.

Wednesday: split pea soup

It's great to have the pressure cooker and be able to do pea soup on a weeknight.

This was the usual: combine peas, onion, diced carrot, bay leaf, chicken bouillon, diced bacon, and herbes de provence in the pressure cooker, bring up to pressure, and cook for 12 minutes. Open the pot, add some wienerli, and cook another couple minutes until the sausage is heated through.

Serve with good bread and a green salad.

Monday: curried vegetable soup

Definitely a garbage soup.

Cook diced onion, leek, celery root, carrot (yellow and orange), potato, and steckrueben in some neutral oil with salt for 10-12 minutes, until the vegetable soften. Add cooked rice, ras al hanout, and sufficient water, bring to a simmer, cover, and let simmer until everything is cooked through. Puree and adjust seasonings.

Saturday: baked sauerkraut with pork

Not the first time we've done this one:
Combine sauerkraut with small-diced bacon, medium diced smoked pork shoulder, and white wine and bake until it's ready.

Serve with steamed potatoes, grainy mustard, cornichons, and a big green salad.

Friday: burgers with baked rice

The burgers were totally basic: beef, salt, minced onion, black pepper.

The rice was derived from the baked rice recipe in La Cocina de Mama; my variation this time was to use ras al hanout.

To go with this we had a salad made from steamed diced beets tossed with sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt, and white pepper.

Thursday: pork steaks with cheese and apple sauce

A bit of a random one driven by the boskoop apples in the house along with leftover fondue.

Make the apple sauce: core the apples and slice them (could also peel them, but it's pretty easy to pick the peels out later if you don't mind a "rustic" dish) then toss them in a pot with a bit of butter, cover, and cook over low heat until it turns to apple sauce.

For the pork: season some pork steaks well, sear on both sides in the cast iron, then let rest a few minutes. Serve topped with the reheated fondue cheese.

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

Wednesday: fondue

It's been a while since we did a fondue...

Once again I did a standard recipe (no need to vary when we do this so rarely): cheese mixture from the place around the corner, garlic, corn starch, white wine, kirsch, black pepper, and nutmeg.

mmmm.

never going to catch up

Been bad about posting lately and I'm never going to catch up, so just some highlights from the past month so I can get started posting again

• Had dinner at the East Coast Grill in Cambridge... mmm, East Coast Grill
• Savory bread pudding with bacon and loads of paprika
• A salad of sliced belgian endive with a creamy, lightly spicy, dressing topped with mandarin segments and peanuts
• curried vegetable soup with ras al hanout
• steak au poivre