I think I enjoy the cooking more than eating, there is nothing better than to watch the smile grow after someone’s first bite. Note from Steve: I am a flow of thought writer and apologize up front if I lose you. My family is used to it.
We went to visit Sofie on Saturday, Gail was out with her girlfriends and Mike was home with Sofie. On a recent visit he had mentioned raviolis so we brought the makings for Ravioli Puttanesca. This is a good switch up from ravioli with pasta sauce and this time we had Kalamata olives not just the black made a huge different added that tart kick. While I was bringing the water to boil Lyn jump in and became my sous chef. Got to say I enjoyed that, I’m usually my own along with chief bottle washer. It was a great lunch.
Sofie enjoyed some sweet potato, Spaghetti was very interested in both.
Lyn’s last day is today then she joins me in the “Everyday is Saturday Club”
My wise brother explained to me that when retired choosing to treat all days as Saturdays is the best, It’s a weekend day so you free to do what you want and there is no work the next day.
Anyway Lyn grabbed this off her healthier cooking recipe work site and it was pretty good, you can do kabobs or just breast your choice no pressure. I was hanging with our 5 month old granddaughter so Lyn made the breast under the broiler to avoid the rain and I came home to this with a avocado side salad and corn tortillas. It was yummy especially after fighting the rush hour traffic on Mass Pike and the 495 exit work. Anyway enjoyed this.
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large red bell peppers
2 small yellow onions
1 tablespoon garlic powder Steve Note: she used a Low Fodmap Foods substitute for this
2 teaspoons onion powder Steve Note: she used a Low Fodmap Foods substitute for this
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Place all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and toss well to coat the chicken and vegetables with the oil and spices. If making a double batch, you can freeze at this point. Thaw completely before proceeding.
2. Alternate chicken and veggies onto a kebab stick (I recommend the metal ones).
3. Place on the grill and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
Lyn and I took a vacation in Booth Bay area Maine back in 2020, we rented a small cabin in a cluster. There were about 6 scattered through the property. Looking out over the harbor and eating a great meal. I had pork chop which was prepared in a Juniper berry based brined. I was so impressed that I asked the chef how he created. He quickly rattled off the ingredients and I tried to duplicate. Came close but never hit it on the nose. I tried many variations of my recipe Pan Fried Pork Chops With Juniper and Rosemary.
Anyway I became a fan of juniper berry and while searching for some Ideas I came up with this we both liked this and will ad my tweaks to our rotation. I’ll add notes as to some changes I made.
Note: First only had two thick ButcherBox pork chops so i sort of cut ingredients in halve below is the full recipe.
Ingredients
4 cloves garlic divided
2 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons juniper berries Steve Note: I did not cut this in half
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 sprigs fresh thyme, divided Steve Note: I did not cut this in half
5 cups ice Steve Note: did not use Ice
4 (1-inch thick) bone-in pork chops Steve Note: Only had 2 chops
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
sea salt to taste
Directions
Peel garlic cloves. Leave 2 cloves whole and set aside for basting. Halve the remaining 2 cloves crosswise.
Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add halved garlic cloves, salt, sugar, juniper berries, peppercorns, and 1 sprig of thyme. Stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Transfer to a large bowl and add ice. Stir until brine is cool. Steve Note: I had errand to run so I left on the stove t cool skipped the ice then refrigerated until ready to brine the chops. The next morning I added pork chops in plastic bag, sealed, and chilled in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
Remove chops from the brine and pat dry. Discard brine.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Steve Note: just used my cast iron pan.
Heat oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook without turning until they begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until beginning to brown on the other sides, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, turning every 2 minutes, until both sides are golden brown, 5 to 7 more minutes.
Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and roast, turning chops every 2 minutes, for 14 minutes.
Remove skillet from the oven and drain fat. Place on the stovetop over medium heat. Add butter, reserved 2 garlic cloves, and remaining sprig of thyme; cook until butter is foamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Tip the skillet slightly and use a large spoon to baste the chops until butter is brown and smells nutty, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer chops to the prepared rack and let rest, turning often to ensure juices are evenly distributed, about 15 minutes. Finish with a light sprinkle of sea salt.
Next time I’ll try crunching the juniper berries bringing out more of the flavor.
Clean out the frig frittata egg, cheese, ham, cauliflower, mushroom, caramelized onions, red bell pepper, potato crust on bottom #cooking
What is the difference between an omelet and a frittata?
And, unlike omelets, frittata fillings are mixed in with the eggs in the pan rather than folded in the center. To make a frittata, well-beaten eggs are cooked on the stove in a hot skillet, along with the fillings, for a few minutes until the outer edges are set.
Was on Mastodon or Post the other day and saw this I’ve been looking for an alternative recipe and this sounded pretty good. I think it would be good with cauliflower also. I can’t remember who’s this was but many thanks.
10-12 Brussels Sprouts, cut in half Optional: diced red bell pepper, 3/4s cup 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1/2 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts, no salt 1 clove & 2 cloves Garlic, minced 1/4 cup Soy Sauce 1 Tablespoon Honey 1/2 teaspoon Ginger Splash of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce 1/4 teaspoon Cornstarch
I rarely measure when I cook, so these are approximations.
Mix soy, ginger, honey, hot sauce & 2 cloves garlic together. Whisk in cornstarch to thicken. Heat in saucepan until just boiling. Reduce heat & stir in peanuts. Remove from heat after 2 minutes.
Toss cut brussels sprouts (& bell pepper, if using) with 1 clove garlic & cook in air fryer 9 minutes at 400°.
Place cooked vegetables into bowl. Pour sauce mixture over & toss to thoroughly coat.
Makes 2 servings if side dish, one if main course.
So I came home and on the counter was an old yellowed recipe that we haven’t seen for years. Lyn was having a craving and laid out the dish, box of lasagna pasta and had already prepared the spinach and broccoli. This is an interesting recipe everything but the initial pasta cooking is made in the microwave. You can tell the age by the one step that was rotate pan half way through, if you remember way back there was either no tray and it never rotated during cooking.
Ingredients
6-9 lasagna noodles
2 carrots shredded
1 small onion chopped –Steve Note: I used red I had half of one left over
1 red or green pepper, cut into thin strips
10 ounce of frozen chopped broccoli or spinach thawed and drained. Steve Note: Lyn had prepared a combo of each but used fresh.
I added 4 mushrooms sliced.
1/2 tsp of salt
15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
Optional 1 egg beaten Steve Note: like to add this to ricotta binds it together.
2 cups of shredded Fontina, Swiss or other cheese. Steve Note: Did not have enough mozzarella or provolone so I grabbed a stick of cheddar and shredded it. BTW take minutes and is way cheaper than buying already shredded. The cheddar turned out a nice choice went well with the veggies.
Lyn’s pasta sauce Steve Note: The recipe did not call for but I put small amount on bottom and top (before the last topping of cheese).
How
Prepare noodles conventionally as package directs; drain, separate and set aside.
in 12×8″ backing dish cook carrots, onion and pepper covered on high 6-8 minutes until tender-crisp stirring half way through. Spoon into bowl and add broccoli. In separate bowl combine egg, and salt and a real good pinch of dried basil.
thin layer in baking dish then top with three noodles. top that with half the ricotta cheese mixture and top that with 1/3 veggie mixture then 1/3 shredded cheese.
Repeat except except set aside the shredded cheese
Cook covered on high for 7-10 minutes until hot through
Sprinkle remain cheese cook 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted
My daughter in-law Gail and I had a Homemade Chinese Dumplings ala Chef Gail where she showed me how to make dumplings that was fun. They are expecting their first child Sofia and her parents are her to visit. This was the first time we have met them other than virtually and it was great fun. Her Mom and Dad graciously decided to make a dumpling banquet for us.
I was good at the prep work and laughable at the rolling out of the wrappers and stuffing them. Dicing Chinese chives, and cabbage and was complemented on my skills. I even got to mix the pork stuffing and there were no faces so I must have done it right, I’ve never mixed using chop sticks. I finally gave up and continue to watch them rolling out the wrappers at lighten speed and her mom was very patient with me when showing how to stuff but I Gail told me that using store bought wrappers and home made were different I just couldn’t get it down.
What I did get was eating them nothing better than homemade. We made two kinds pork and shrimp and chives. Important to make sure that each one had a piece of shrimp in them. They also had premade a batch of meat dumplings and froze for us to take home.
What I learned, you boil them 3 times first bring water to boil then add about a cup of cold water do this three times. this is also covered. If they are frozen wait for the water to boil and then add the dumplings and follow above steps. I have the concept down on how to seal. I got better at chop sticks but her dad slipped me a fork halfway through the meal. Oh they have a custom to have a bowl of the water the dumplings were cooked in to sip from time to time during the meal. I also learned that there was no way I could match their eating speed. I also learn that leftover are great the next day fried.
Impressive fact her Dad took her Mom to the hospital to give birth on a bicycle about 20-30 minutes a way.
the last two pictures are something her mom made earlier.
Gourmet Dad, Don’t Let The Title Fool You 