Lovely, lovely pork butt
at $3.89 a pound
All marbled and sexy in that glass case
How can I resist you?
Cheap, porky fatty goodness
I had to take you home with me
But what to do with you, all raw and tough and full of cartilage...
I contemplated the best way to bring out
the tenderness I know you have in you
I gently coated you in Worchestershire
Left you to sit for 30 minutes
And then I covered you and set you in the oven at 200F to keep you warm
And I'll bet you thought I forgot about you
Because I left you in there
For 7 hours while I ran errands on a Sunday
You should have known I would never do that to you!
You had a long time to soften up in that nice warm oven
And hot fat bath that pooled around you
I gently lifted you out, freed you from that bone
Shredded you and tossed some Sriracha on you, just to wake you up a bit
And you, you were delicious.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Blog? What blog? Oh, THAT blog
So, moving to CA and settling in is in fact more intense than I thought. But I think we're through the worst of it, and on that note I will bring you my latest favourite recipe, along with my hope that all has been well with all of you :)
Slow Roasted Sirloin Tip
Now, I have discussed my fondness for buying big honking slabs of meat and cooking them off. It's cheaper, easy (yay leftovers), and less time consuming than preparing little bits every night. Sirloin tip roast is relatively inexpensive, mainly because it's relatively lean--which means you can throw a crazy rich sauce on to get your fat--and can dry out easily if you don't know what you're doing. Here's what you need/do:
1) One 3-4lb sirloin tip roast (or eye of round, or any other lean roast)
2) Something yummy to rub on it, I did butter and oregano, but you can do what ever you want
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 500F. This is very important, give your oven a good 20 minutes to get there.
2) Put the roast in a roasting pan, give it a good rub down with your seasonings.
3) Throw it in the oven and let it roast 7min/lb. So for a three pound roast, 21 min.
4) Turn off the oven. Let the roast sit in the oven for 2.5 hours.
That's it. Take the roast out and you are good to go. I let it rest, carve it into slices, and eat it over the course of a few days. To heat up the slices, get a frying pan nice and hot and sear the outsides. Yummy, I tell you.
As for sauces, go wild :) Bearnaise, gravy from the roast drippings, slather it with butter...
Slow Roasted Sirloin Tip
Now, I have discussed my fondness for buying big honking slabs of meat and cooking them off. It's cheaper, easy (yay leftovers), and less time consuming than preparing little bits every night. Sirloin tip roast is relatively inexpensive, mainly because it's relatively lean--which means you can throw a crazy rich sauce on to get your fat--and can dry out easily if you don't know what you're doing. Here's what you need/do:
1) One 3-4lb sirloin tip roast (or eye of round, or any other lean roast)
2) Something yummy to rub on it, I did butter and oregano, but you can do what ever you want
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 500F. This is very important, give your oven a good 20 minutes to get there.
2) Put the roast in a roasting pan, give it a good rub down with your seasonings.
3) Throw it in the oven and let it roast 7min/lb. So for a three pound roast, 21 min.
4) Turn off the oven. Let the roast sit in the oven for 2.5 hours.
That's it. Take the roast out and you are good to go. I let it rest, carve it into slices, and eat it over the course of a few days. To heat up the slices, get a frying pan nice and hot and sear the outsides. Yummy, I tell you.
As for sauces, go wild :) Bearnaise, gravy from the roast drippings, slather it with butter...
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Change up
My wonderful foodie has been a bit preoccupied, so I thought I would take a moment to brief you on our happenings. We have been going out to eat at least twice a week, but have made quite a run of the grocery scene here in SF. Our key local favorite is the Berkeley Bowl, suplimented by our staple place for random items, Trader Joes.
The highlight of eating over the last three weeks has been Pork Butt. With this, I will leave it to my love to tell you more about receipes and variations there of . . .
The highlight of eating over the last three weeks has been Pork Butt. With this, I will leave it to my love to tell you more about receipes and variations there of . . .
Friday, 20 February 2009
And another recipe!
Yes, I freely admit I am trying to use up the head of cabbage I bought. I love cabbage. I love it raw, I love it boiled, I love it braised. I really really love it braised, actually, because cabbage gets all lovely and silky and tender but still has just enough chew and it takes on this delicate sweetness that is just amazing. So I had some leftover ground turkey, and ground beef, and cabbage. And I had about an hour before the SO would start whining for food.
So, I Googled around for recipes and came up with one for unstuffed cabbage, http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/maindishes/r/unstuffcabbage.htm which of course I screwed around with because that's how I roll. This meal comes together very easily and requires little supervision, and since the SO loved this, I thought it was worthy of a post.
For this recipe, which will serve one small female and one larger, very hungry male with some leftovers, you will need
1) 7 g/1.5 tsp butter
2) 454 g/1 lb of cabbage of cabbage
3) 120 g onion, thinly sliced.
4) 1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced
5) 200 g jarred tomato sauce+1/2 cup water OR 1 16 oz can tomatoes
6) 454 g ground beef/turkey
7) Malt vinegar (or any other you have lying around)
8) Red pepper flakes
9) Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Use butter to grease bottom of large dutch oven.
3) Slice cabbage into 1.5" wedges and lay on the bottom of the oven.
4) Lay onion slices and garlic slices on top of cabbage.
5) Pour tomatoes or tomato sauce+water over cabbage+onions+garlic.
6) Roll the meat into 1.5" diameter balls. Wedge meatballs between cabbage slices. When doing so, make sure you give them a good roll in the tomatoes.
7) Douse the pot with a nice shake of vinegar, salt and pepper, and hot pepper flakes to taste.
8) Throw the lid on the pot and stick the whole shebang in the oven for an hour. Halfway through cooking, remove the lid.
9. Serve in bowls in order to savour properly with the lovely meaty tomatoey broth that will form on the bottom of the pan.
In the last 20 minutes or so of cooking, carefully monitor the meat. My turkey meatballs we slightly overcooked, although the beef was dandy. This recipe would work nicely with ground lamb or chicken as well. And it's an economical dish, owing to the cheap ingredients.
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend :)
So, I Googled around for recipes and came up with one for unstuffed cabbage, http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/maindishes/r/unstuffcabbage.htm which of course I screwed around with because that's how I roll. This meal comes together very easily and requires little supervision, and since the SO loved this, I thought it was worthy of a post.
For this recipe, which will serve one small female and one larger, very hungry male with some leftovers, you will need
1) 7 g/1.5 tsp butter
2) 454 g/1 lb of cabbage of cabbage
3) 120 g onion, thinly sliced.
4) 1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced
5) 200 g jarred tomato sauce+1/2 cup water OR 1 16 oz can tomatoes
6) 454 g ground beef/turkey
7) Malt vinegar (or any other you have lying around)
8) Red pepper flakes
9) Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Use butter to grease bottom of large dutch oven.
3) Slice cabbage into 1.5" wedges and lay on the bottom of the oven.
4) Lay onion slices and garlic slices on top of cabbage.
5) Pour tomatoes or tomato sauce+water over cabbage+onions+garlic.
6) Roll the meat into 1.5" diameter balls. Wedge meatballs between cabbage slices. When doing so, make sure you give them a good roll in the tomatoes.
7) Douse the pot with a nice shake of vinegar, salt and pepper, and hot pepper flakes to taste.
8) Throw the lid on the pot and stick the whole shebang in the oven for an hour. Halfway through cooking, remove the lid.
9. Serve in bowls in order to savour properly with the lovely meaty tomatoey broth that will form on the bottom of the pan.
In the last 20 minutes or so of cooking, carefully monitor the meat. My turkey meatballs we slightly overcooked, although the beef was dandy. This recipe would work nicely with ground lamb or chicken as well. And it's an economical dish, owing to the cheap ingredients.
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend :)
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Kind Bar hacks
So a while ago, starving at an airport, I grabbed a Kind Bar in my mad dash to make my flight. For those not familiar with them, these bars are actually pretty good, in my opinion. They're made of fruits and nuts, and while some have icing, and all are bonded together with glucose syrup, some of them are still pretty good re: fat (lots of it) and carbs (not too too high). What I really loved were the flavors of the dried fruit and the nuts together.
Let me say I don't recommend dried fruits if you're trying to lose weight. They are sugar bullets. But for an occasional dessert, I really like them.
My two favorite bars are the date walnut and the apricot almond. So here's what I do: I buy dates and I split them open and stuff them with walnuts and eat them like a sandwich. Three big dates and my sweet tooth is MORE than satisfied. With the apricots and almonds I slice three dried almonds into strips and eat them with ten almonds, a strip of apricot on top of each almond. So I control the portion of dried fruit and pair it with some good nutritive fat. And I get my dessert fix AND I save money and avoid the glucose syrup in the Kind Bar.
I know this hack thing sounds basic. But Kind Bars sell pretty well, so I assume people either haven't thought about doing this or just can't be bothered to buy the raw ingredients (of which there are two each) and make these snacks themselves. That fact in and of itself kind of blows my mind. Or maybe I'm just that cheap ;)
Let me say I don't recommend dried fruits if you're trying to lose weight. They are sugar bullets. But for an occasional dessert, I really like them.
My two favorite bars are the date walnut and the apricot almond. So here's what I do: I buy dates and I split them open and stuff them with walnuts and eat them like a sandwich. Three big dates and my sweet tooth is MORE than satisfied. With the apricots and almonds I slice three dried almonds into strips and eat them with ten almonds, a strip of apricot on top of each almond. So I control the portion of dried fruit and pair it with some good nutritive fat. And I get my dessert fix AND I save money and avoid the glucose syrup in the Kind Bar.
I know this hack thing sounds basic. But Kind Bars sell pretty well, so I assume people either haven't thought about doing this or just can't be bothered to buy the raw ingredients (of which there are two each) and make these snacks themselves. That fact in and of itself kind of blows my mind. Or maybe I'm just that cheap ;)
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Hunting for supplies
One of my favorite things to do is to go searching for various supplies requested. This is always fun, as these random assortments are not things that I would purchase myself (but then, I am no cook like her) . . .
Salami, various meats, different foods of precise nutritional composition. It is fun because it is always somewhat challenging and always educational. I have made mistakes from time to time, therefore the charge now is to give me explicit instructions when making purchases.
I have always been into the culture of eating; my largest discretionary expenses have always been food and eating out . . . I enjoy the atmosphere of great meals, though since we met this has transitioned more to home, than out. I have various interests and hobbies and developing skills in cooking is one for 2009. I am still trying to make a mental picture of where to start and since I have been fetching random bits and pieces for a while, I am starting to get an idea on what to look for.
More on how I figure out how to cook things beyond my chicken taco recipe later.
Salami, various meats, different foods of precise nutritional composition. It is fun because it is always somewhat challenging and always educational. I have made mistakes from time to time, therefore the charge now is to give me explicit instructions when making purchases.
I have always been into the culture of eating; my largest discretionary expenses have always been food and eating out . . . I enjoy the atmosphere of great meals, though since we met this has transitioned more to home, than out. I have various interests and hobbies and developing skills in cooking is one for 2009. I am still trying to make a mental picture of where to start and since I have been fetching random bits and pieces for a while, I am starting to get an idea on what to look for.
More on how I figure out how to cook things beyond my chicken taco recipe later.
If you're afraid of cooking fish...
I have the technique for you! It's fast, easy, delicious, and as a bonus, there is little clean up after. Interested?
If so, here's what you need to make 4 servings:
1) 4 firm fleshed fish fillets (salmon, cod, mahimahi) about an inch thick and 4-6 oz (112 to 168 g)
2) 2 cloves of garlic, slivered or finely chopped, however you prefer
3) 1 lemon
4) butter
5) Salt
6) Four large sheets of foil
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450F.
2) Place one fillet in the center of each piece of foil. Top with some of the garlic, lemon, a couple pats of butter (I used 6g per packet, but you can use more if you'd like) and good sprinkle of salt. You can also had herbs like dill if you have them lying around. Yell at cat who is trying to sample bit of raw fillet.*
3) Lock cat in bathroom until finished with step 4.
4) Bring two of the opposite sides together and crimp them so they're sealed shut. Now crimp the other two ends until they're sealed shut. Make sure everything is nice and tightly closed.
5) Place packets on cookie sheet and slide into the over for 12-15 minutes (adjust time accordingly for thinner or fatter fillets).
6) Remove packets from oven, place on plate and slit open packets VERY CAREFULLY as there has been steam build up and nobody likes 2nd degree burns before dinner.
7) Enjoy your moist, perfectly cooked, no pan to clean up fish. Taunt cat, then take pity and slip a bit into his food bowl.
*Please note, some instructions apply only to cat owners.
This dish is what we had for dinner last night, along with sauteed cabbage as I completely forgot about my mushrooms (which will be on the menu tonight!) until after dinner ;)
If so, here's what you need to make 4 servings:
1) 4 firm fleshed fish fillets (salmon, cod, mahimahi) about an inch thick and 4-6 oz (112 to 168 g)
2) 2 cloves of garlic, slivered or finely chopped, however you prefer
3) 1 lemon
4) butter
5) Salt
6) Four large sheets of foil
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450F.
2) Place one fillet in the center of each piece of foil. Top with some of the garlic, lemon, a couple pats of butter (I used 6g per packet, but you can use more if you'd like) and good sprinkle of salt. You can also had herbs like dill if you have them lying around. Yell at cat who is trying to sample bit of raw fillet.*
3) Lock cat in bathroom until finished with step 4.
4) Bring two of the opposite sides together and crimp them so they're sealed shut. Now crimp the other two ends until they're sealed shut. Make sure everything is nice and tightly closed.
5) Place packets on cookie sheet and slide into the over for 12-15 minutes (adjust time accordingly for thinner or fatter fillets).
6) Remove packets from oven, place on plate and slit open packets VERY CAREFULLY as there has been steam build up and nobody likes 2nd degree burns before dinner.
7) Enjoy your moist, perfectly cooked, no pan to clean up fish. Taunt cat, then take pity and slip a bit into his food bowl.
*Please note, some instructions apply only to cat owners.
This dish is what we had for dinner last night, along with sauteed cabbage as I completely forgot about my mushrooms (which will be on the menu tonight!) until after dinner ;)
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