Main Course

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A taste of Passover. Since our regular Eastover crew was not available and Mike had been hinting about having a canied corn beef, I jump at the chance. We had bought 2 corned beefs on ST Patrick day weeince our regular Eastover crew was not available and Mike had been hinting about having a canied corn beef, I jump at the chance. We stated with Charoset and matzo sandwiches then went to matzo ball soup and then the candied brisket. I’ll put the recipes up later.

INGREDIENTS

    • 4 large eggs
    • 2 tablespoons chicken fat or vegetable oil
    • 1/4 cup seltzer, club soda, or chicken broth
    • 1 cup matzah meal
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
    • N/A freshly ground black pepper

How

    1. 1. Mix the eggs well with a fork. Add the chicken fat or oil, soda water or chicken broth, matzah meal, and salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.
    2. 2. Dip your hands in cold water and make about 12 balls slightly smaller than Ping-Pong balls.
    3. 3. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt and place the matzah balls in the water. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes until soft.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 cup kosher red wine (such as Manischewitz)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • kosher salt
  • 2 crisp apples (such as Gala or McIntosh), peeled and roughly chopped

I chopped and mixed everything I did not have Manischewitz so I had a open bottle of Sullivan cabernet which worked very nicely.

Candied Brisket

1 5 to 7 lbs cornedbeef

6 peppercorns

4 cloves

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup firmly pressed brown sugar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Cover the cornedbeef in water bring to a boil with without the spice package.

Drain water and cover agian add then peppercorns and cloves and the spices usually packaged with the cornedbeef. Simmer for about 4 hours or until fork tender.

While this is simmering combine the ketchup, vinegar, sugar and mustard and heat mediummhat until bubbly. I might also add a small amount of the pineapple juice.

Place in roasting pan and slather with the sauce, cover with either crushed or sliced pineapple. Roast about 30 minutes basting with left over sauce occasionally. I Like to finish off under broiler for a few minutes.

Matzo ball soup

I grew up with a very brothy soup with sliced carrots. I will use box of matzo ball mix but add about 1/3 cup of soda water for a light and fluffy texture. I used maybe 2 tablespoons of oil. Very similar to this

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Pan roasted organic chicken one with butter milk the other with yogart brine.

So whole foods had whole organic chicken on sales so we bought 2. I went to make a quick butter milk brine but the powered buttermilk can was empty. So I made a quick yogart brine put one chicken in the fefrig. While we were out later grabbed a new can of buttermilk came home and did the other in that. Now we have 1/2 of each for meals this week. Made this before https://stevesacooking.com/2017/11/07/buttermilk-marinated-roast-chicken-recipe/

There is just so much that can be done with left over roasted chicken always ending with a soup or freezer broth.

Instant Pot Steak Chili
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Instant Pot Steak Chili

Like most I cook pretty much the same things over and over with small changes here and there. I was in a rut, sort of and wanted something different. I had some wholefoods stew meat in the freezer and had recently cooked one of my instant pot favorites Thicker Instant Pot Chili so beef stew was not on my list. I remembered the Texas chili I made and said maybe I’ll make a variation of that. I looked at some recipes for ideas and went to work.

 

IMG_20180218_103106 (NXPowerLite Copy)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/3 pounds stew meat, diced into ½ to 3/4-inch cubes – I had a little over 1 pound
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Big spoon full of sliced jalapeños for the jar, then minced
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • About a cup of Lyn’s pasta sauce – got to use what’s on hand. (subbed for tomato sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, for serving
  • Sour Cream, for serving
  • Chopped Avocado, for serving

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Season stew meat with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Let sit for about 10-15 minute
  • Pat dry with paper towel
  • Heat olive oil In Instant pot on sauté
  • Add stew meat and sear until browned, about 2 -4 minutes. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno, and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, kidney beans and 1 to 1 ½ cups water.
  • Seal the instant pot and choose Chili button set for  30 minutes
  • Let natural release

Serve with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, a dollop of sour cream and avocado maybe corn bread or chips, if desired.

I only had some left over Garlic toast and you got to use what you have, Mike, my son came over to do his taxes and laundry he did not mind at all.

IMG_20180218_131718 (NXPowerLite Copy)

It’s hard to say where the heat came from but I might try less chili powder or jalapeños next time. Mike likes it hot said it was really good. I would like to make it a little thicker just my tastes.

Really Good Garlic Bread.
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Really Good Garlic Bread.

Saw this on America’s Test Kitchen and tried once before but had a crustier bread, it was good. Trying again tonight with a lighter airier bread.

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INGREDIENTS

Print Shopping List

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 4—5 garlic cloves, minced to paste (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 (1-pound) loaf soft Italian bread, halved horizontally

 

INSTRUCTIONS

SERVES 8

A 12 by 5-inch loaf of supermarket Italian bread, which has a soft, thin crust and fine crumb, works best here. Do not use a rustic or crusty artisan-style loaf. A rasp-style grater makes quick work of turning the garlic into a paste. The amount of time needed to brown the bread after flipping it in step 3 depends on the color of your baking sheet. If using a dark-colored sheet, the browning time will be on the shorter end of the range.

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine garlic powder and water in medium bowl. Add 4 tablespoons butter, salt, and cayenne to bowl; set aside.
  2. Place remaining 4 tablespoons butter in small bowl and microwave, covered, until melted, about 30 seconds. Stir in garlic and continue to microwave, covered, until mixture is bubbling around edges, about 1 minute, stirring halfway through microwaving. Transfer melted butter mixture to bowl with garlic powder–butter mixture and whisk until homogeneous loose paste forms. (If mixture melts, set aside and let solidify before using.)
  3. Spread cut sides of bread evenly with butter mixture. Transfer bread, cut sides up, to rimmed baking sheet. Bake until butter mixture has melted and seeped into bread, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove sheet from oven. Flip bread cut sides down, place second rimmed baking sheet on top, and gently press. Return sheet to oven, leaving second sheet on top of bread, and continue to bake until cut sides are golden brown and crisp, 4 to 12 minutes longer, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer bread to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut each half into 8 slices. Serve immediately.

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The lighter bread toasted a little quicker than I thought but was still good.  I guess I’ll just forget about my love handles and keep trying till I perfect this.

Pan-Roasted Swordfish with Mixed Peppercorn Butter.
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Pan-Roasted Swordfish with Mixed Peppercorn Butter.

Wholefoods had swordfish on sale for $8.99 lbs and we bought a bunch. love out food saver we divided up and stored some in the freezer. I took a piece out in the morning and on the way home stopped at Shaws grabbed a lemon and some fresh parsley.  I had always seen recipes that oven roasted swordfish but was partly afraid to try because with fish a few minutes to long and you end up with a dry fish. The other reason was out of respect for my Mom who always soaked in grapefruit juice, she said this was a trick she learned from Legals, who now if that was true or a MOMism. Tenn she would coat with mayo and grill. this has been my standard way for many years I might add some Mrs Dash  rub for different flavors before the mayo went on.  Anyway with a quick google I saw this recipe  search among a bunch and my stomach growled. yep that was the one. Got to tell you this was great I only had 1 lb so I cut the butter mixture in half. This fish melted in your mouth heck i ate 1/2 pound and eyed Lyn’s leftovers.

I had to use their picture because we were so hungry i forgot to take a picture of the end results, which was pretty close I might add. Side note I’m starting to love my new cast iron pans.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed peppercorns, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated lemon peel
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 1-inch-thick swordfish fillets (about 6 ounces each)
    • I had only 1 lbs so I cut the butter mixed in half

How

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mash butter, parsley, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed peppercorns, and lemon peel in small bowl. Season to taste with salt.
  2. Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle swordfish with salt and ground mixed peppercorns. Add swordfish to skillet. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn swordfish over and transfer to oven. Roast until just cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer swordfish to plates. Add seasoned butter to same skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping up browned bits, until melted and bubbling. Pour butter sauce over swordfish and serve

Over all this was wicked easy to prepare and cook. definitely a repeater.

from epicurious

 

 

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The perfect turkey button Buttermilk brined Turkey Round 2

Organic turkey only 99 cents a pound Lyn said with glee. We had just cooked a 17 pounder for our annual trip to DC to see Misy, Mark, Maria and Clara B. This year it was topped off with Mike joining us for the ride both ways. 

So off the Wholefoods we went to get groceries after returning return to an empty frig. We return with a 17 pounder. Into some buttermilk brine over night and finally we got to try the perfect turkey button on our stove. Always said we would do it but never had. So I melted some butter added rosemary and live oil, let thicken slightly and then basted over the turkey which I had stuffed with oranges, lemon, garlic and onions.  Placed the prob in the thickest part of the thigh and plugged it I.  Pressed the perfect turkey button then the prob button and closed the oven. I basted a few times and at one point losely covered with tin foil to avoid burning. We went off to run a few errands and returned just as the oven had turn itself to keep warm. That meant it was done, perfect according to the oven genie. Left it sit and then carved, make room in the freezer her comes some turkey. Whipped up a  quick gravy for tonight . I made some bone broth with the carcus will freeze some for later. My tasting du4ing the carving agreed it was perfectly cooked and the skin was super crunchy and hit the spot. 

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Lyn just forwarded this link to me and I happen I have an bunch of left over chicken which I was going to make soup but this sounds interesting. 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018861-pressure-cooker-bone-broth-or-chicken-stock?utm_source=sharetools&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=website®i=1&join_cooking_newsletter=false&login=facebook#_=_