Making Biscuits

Good biscuits and good cornbread are the hallmark of a good Southern cook.  Biscuits are a versatile bread in that they can be used for any meal.  For breakfast, they are great with sausage gravy or as a sausage and egg breakfast sandwich.  At supper time a hot biscuit with butter works with just about any meal.  They are good eaten cold for lunch either as a side or part of a sandwich.  Of course, they are great with any meal when smeared with jam, jelly, or preserves.


Biscuit making seems to mystify some people so they never try making them.  This is a sad state to be in.  I have a couple of different biscuit recipes I use depending on mood or which ingredients I have in the refrigerator.  The one I make the most are just biscuits the other is a buttermilk biscuit.


Way back in 1999, I belonged to Muzzleloading Rifle email group, the sort of thing that evolved to today's message boards.  One of the discussions turned to quick breads in relation to reenacting the 18th Century and then turned to quick breads in general.  One of the posters stated that he'd always considered it a failing as a Southern man that he could not make a good biscuit.  He then shared a recipe he said he got from the side of a bag of flour.  It only has 2 ingredients.  Even better, these biscuits rise up light and fluffy.

Biscuits hot from the oven.  These were pressed to about 1/2 inch thick.

Biscuits


2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups heavy cream, aka whipping cream


Put the flour in a bowl.  Pour in 1 cup of heavy cream and stir to combine.  Start adding the remaining heavy cream and stirring until you get a soft dough.  The dough may be slightly shaggy but not sticky.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface.  Knead 4 - 6 times.  Press or roll out till it is 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits, I like a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, and place on a baking sheet not touching each other.  Bake 10 - 15 minutes at 425F until desired doneness.  I generally go 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and enjoy.

Sausage and Egg Biscuit with Pomegranate.

When cutting biscuits, don't twist the cutter as it may cause the biscuit to rise unevenly.


If you don't keep self-rising flour at the house, never fear, you can make your own.  All it takes is for each cup of all purpose flour you add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt and mix.  This is how I usually do it since we don't keep self-rising flour around except for rare occasions.


Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 cup cold buttermilk

Place the butter in the freezer for 10 - 20 minutes.  Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to blend and aerate.  Shred the frozen butter into the bowl using a box grater.  Toss with a fork to coat all the butter pieces with flour.  Put the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.  Remove from freezer and use a pastry cutter or two knives to further reduce the size of the butter pieces.  Add the buttermilk and stir until you have a moist shaggy dough.  Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and flour the top of the dough.  Press or roll the dough out to about 1 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits using a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  Place the biscuits on a parchment paper lined baking sheet so that they are not touching.  Gather remaining dough into a ball and repeat the process.  You should get 8 - 10 biscuits.  Bake at 425F for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown.

While the biscuits from the first recipe turn out soft and fluffy, the buttermilk biscuits have a nice crust.  The parchment paper will keep them from sticking to the baking sheet as the butter melts and cooks into the bottom of the biscuit and it makes clean up a lot easier.

Both recipes do well with sausage gravy or as sausage and biscuits.  They also do well as an accompaniment to a fried chicken dinner.  I do prefer the buttermilk biscuit to eat as a cold biscuit.

Give these recipes a try and let me know which you prefer.  Remember, making a good biscuit will garner you much praise for the quality of your meal.

Uncle T 

Pressure Cooker Sausage and Kale Soup

Have I mentioned that I really like my electric pressure cooker?  While there are some things that a long slow cook is to be preferred, some meals are just as good when using this quick method.  Dried beans come to mind as something that is just as good when pressure cooked.  Soups turn out very well also.  To that end, I've been thinking about soups to try in the pressure cooker.

Sausage and Kale Soup ready to serve

I was searching soups recipes and came across a list of soups that had pasta and one of them was sausage and kale.  The picture looked good so I started looking at sausage and kale soup recipes.  Seems most of them call for potatoes rather than pasta but I wanted to include pasta.  That was as much for the pasta as it was the chance to cook pasta in the pressure cooker.  Another change from other recipes was the use of dried beans instead of opening a can or two.  I also noticed that most recipes called for sweet Italian sausage and the rest for some sort of smoked sausage.  I used some of my home made hot Italian sausage.


The soup was cooked in two sessions with the two sessions totaling only 25 minutes.  Making the meat balls was the longest bit of prep work for this meal.  I used my small portion scoop, a #70 scoop,  to make the meat balls a consistent size.  After the meat balls were made they were lightly browned using the sear function on the pressure cooker.  Nothing like only having one pot to clean up after supper.


 Sausage and Kale Soup (Changes listed after the instructions)


1 lb hot Italian sausage
8 oz Rigatoni
1.5 cups dried great northern beans
4 - 6 cups chopped Kale, stems removed
2 quarts chicken broth
2 Tbs Italian seasoning
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt


Make meat balls out of the sausage, approximately 1/2 oz each.  Lightly brown in the pressure cooker.  Pour in the chicken broth, dried beans, and pasta.  Add the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and stir to mix.  Put the lid on, making sure the valve is set to pressure cook, and set timer for 15 minutes.  After timer goes off, release the steam.  Add the kale to the cooker and stir to fully incorporate.  Put lid back on and pressure cook for another 10 minutes.  When done, manually release steam again and serve.

A bowl full of goodness

Changes I'll make next time I make this include upping the amount of chicken broth to 3 quarts, waiting to put in the pasta, and just letting the hot soup wilt the kale rather than pressure cooking it.  It needs more chicken broth because I underestimated how much would be soaked up by the beans and pasta as they cooked.  I would do the meat, broth, and beans for 15 minutes, then add the pasta for the final 10 minutes.


Doing the dried beans this way yielded beans that were fully cooked but were still firm.  For something like this you don't want them cooked to mush like you would if you were just cooking a pot of white beans to eat with sausage and cornbread.


If you have the time to make it, some fresh hot crusty bread would go good with this soup.  It is not necessary though.

Simply Ming Pressure Cooker Review

For some time I'd been thinking about getting an electric pressure cooker.  After all, pressure cooking speeds the cooking process and that can be a good thing.  The hold up on getting one came down to a couple of things, one being that most didn't seem versatile enough and the second being I didn't like the controls being on the side.

We had gotten a new slow cooker and found we didn't like it because the sides got too hot.  Then, while channel surfing I saw Chef Ming on HSN.  I do like watching the chefs on the shopping networks for some reason and Chef Ming was talking about his electric pressure cooker so I decided to watch.  I called the good wife into the room to check it out.  In the end, I went online and ordered it from HSN.  It is no longer on HSN's web site but it can be found on Amazon.  My good wife's sister recently bought one through Amazon.

The Simply Ming Pressure Cooker has several functions and I've used them all.  Best of all, the control panel is at the bottom and faces up so it is easy to see and use.  You can use it as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, a steamer, keep food warm until ready to eat, and it has a sear function.  It comes with a measuring cup for rice and a rice scoop for after it is done.  When I placed the order it also came with 50 recipe cards.  While some of them sound good, many have ingredients that even I don't keep around and the preparation instructions are lacking in completeness and are not for the pressure cooker.

The pressure cooker function was the first one I tried.  I used it to make hot wings.  Our usual way of making them had been putting them in the oven to cook then toss them in my home made buffalo style sauce.  From frozen, it takes 45 minutes to cook the wings this way.  With the pressure cooker, they are done in 20 minutes once it gets to temperature.  The pressure does make them a bit soft, so I do a quick toss in flour and fry them then toss in the sauce.  I also end up with a cup or so of chicken broth that gets frozen for later use in soups.

18 frozen chicken wings ready to go.

The second use of the pressure cooker was for rice.  I had some sushi rice for making kimbop so I used that since Minute Rice was the only other rice we had on hand.  Now, I just buy any long grain rice.  To pressure cook rice, use the included measuring cup then add water to the line marked on the cooker that corresponds with the number of cups of rice you put in.  Rice is done with 6 minutes on the timer.

The next function tested was the slow cooker and delay setting.  To test that, I made my version of stuffed cabbage leaves in a tomato sauce.  That was written about here, Cabbage Rolls.  I made them up the evening before and set the pot in the refrigerator.  I put it in the cooker in the morning before I left for work and set the delay to start the cooking a little before I got home.  It was cooking merrily away when I got home and it finished when I expected.

Stuffed Cabbage ready to cook

The sear function was done in conjunction with another slow cooker meal.  I made venison rouladon for supper.  The rouladon were seared in batches then stacked in the pot and slow cooked.  Being able to sear in the pressure cooker meant one less thing to wash after supper.  That recipe was written about here, Venison Rouladen.

The only function that hasn't been used repeatedly is the steamer function.  The reason being that we don't steam vegetables very often.  Contrary to my Southern roots I don't cook my vegetables to death and we're not afraid of a bit oil or butter to help carry seasonings on the vegetables.  The pressure cooker comes with a small rack to keep what you are steaming above the liquid.

Another benefit of the pressure cooker has come in the form of broths.  I processed 8 bone in pork butts for sausage and as usual saved the shoulder blades to cook for broth.  I fit all 8 in the pressure cooker, added a coffee cup worth of water, then pressure cooked them for 40 minutes.  The bits of meat were soft and tasteless after that time so all the goodness had been squeezed out to make the broth.  The resulting broth was used to make Pork Belly Soup.  It was a far cry from the old way of covering the bones with water and slowly simmering to get the same effect then having to reduce the water to concentrate the flavor.


A quick word about clean up, it's fast and easy.  The non-stick coating is amazing.  We've not found anything that couldn't be cleaned up simply by wiping with a paper towel.  We still use soap and water to be safe but the inside is clean when we do it.



I am quite pleased with my Simply Ming Pressure Cooker and would recommend it for anyone that was looking to get an electric pressure cooker.  At 6 quarts capacity it can handle most anything you want to cook.

Uncle T

Red Wine Pasta

It seems this is a pretty big thing.  My good wife and son were talking about it this past weekend because his beloved had liked a recipe.  I had missed that somehow and got them to tell me about it.  After that it was up to Google and I found lots of recipes.  I also got our son to send me the link to the recipe his beloved had found.  In the end, I combined bits of other recipes and added my own twist to come up with a great supper.


Most of the recipes I found involve nothing more than the pasta, typically spaghetti, along with red wine, shallots, and garlic.  They also tended to be intended for side dishes.  I came across a couple that added nuts and/or Feta cheese or goat cheese.  I found one where they added pancetta to the mix.  The one with pancetta said it could be eaten by itself or used as a side dish.


If I was going to have the big pot for the pasta and the big skillet on the stove I didn't want to have to make something else to go along with the pasta.  So what does Uncle T do, he adds more stuff.  For my version you include pancetta, mushrooms, and asparagus.

A skillet full of goodness

A couple of things to note, you can use either a box of pasta or a recipe of fresh pasta for this.  I used fresh fettuccini using the recipe in this post, Pasta Recipe.  The second thing, use a wine you'd like to drink.  After all, you'll have some left over and there is no need to let it go to waste.  Most of the recipes I found called for a Zinfandel or a Cabernet Sauvignon.  I used an Australian Merlot.


So without further ado, here it is.


Red Wine Pasta


1 lb spaghetti or fettuccini, boxed or fresh
4 oz thick cut pancetta, diced
1 shallot, minced
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 lb asparagus, cut in bite size pieces
1 bottle red wine
2 Tbs butter
olive oil
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning


Heat skillet over medium/medium high heat and add diced pancetta.  Cook until slightly crispy and remove from skillet.   Put the shallot and garlic in the skillet with the grease rendered from the pancetta.  Cook until the shallot is translucent then add the asparagus.  Stir the asparagus and cook until slightly under done and remove from skillet.  If there is not enough of the pancetta grease left add a bit of olive oil and dump in the mushrooms.  Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste.  Cook the mushrooms till they are lightly brown on the bottom then turn and brown the other side.  Add the pancetta and asparagus with the shallot and garlic back to the skillet.  Pour in 1/3 of the bottle of wine.  Bring to a simmer.  Time cooking your pasta so it is almost done at the same time you add the wine to the skillet.  When the wine is at a simmer, remove the pasta from the pot and put into the skillet.  Once all the pasta is in the skillet start turning it to get it all in the wine.  Add the butter to help thicken the sauce.  Once the wine has been cooked into the pasta and the pasta is al dente it is done.  Plate and top with cheese.  Eat and enjoy.

Red Wine Pasta plated up and ready for cheese

This would go well with some good Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.  I didn't have any of those on hand so I used a blend that contains Parmesan, Asiago,

Red Wine Pasta with cheese

This dish or a variant of it will definitely become part of the rotation.  It is too quick and tasty for it to not be.  If you can't find thick pancetta you could dice some slab bacon and come close to the same effect.  If you are in the mood for pasta with a twist give this a try.  If you do, let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Grilled Beets and Turmip Patties

For some reason, this post has been languishing in my Draft file.  Obviously it is from late Spring, but the recipes can be used year round since the ingredients can be found year round. 

Since the beets did well in our Fall garden last year we put out more for this year's Spring garden.  I tend to sow a bit heavier than advised because when I thin them out we have beet greens for salads.  So most suppers on our Fast Days have been salads from our garden and some sort of protein source.  What we were looking forward to was the beets being large enough to grill.  Well, that time finally came.

Fresh pulled beets.  This is about half the crop, the rest need another week.

One of the advantages of living on the coast is being able to get fresh seafood at a reasonable cost.  It's even better when I have access to seafood at wholesale costs.  A few months back, we bought a whole fresh salmon at the wholesaler.  After it was filleted out, one side was cut into portions that would make a meal for use and the other side was kept whole to smoke.  All that was not for immediate use went into the vacuum bags and then the freezer.  One of those portions is what got grilled to go with the grilled beets.

Salmon and beets right off the grill.

We are looking at making space for this season's canned goods so I decided to make use of some canned turnips from the fall.  The canned turnips are very soft so I figured mashed turnips or something made with them would be good.  Thus, fried turnip patties were born.

Fried turnip patties hot from the skillet.

For the grilled beets, slice 1/2 inch thick, toss with enough olive oil to coat them, sprinkle with a little kosher salt and grind or two of black pepper.  Once that is done they are ready for the grill.  Grill over direct heat, about medium high on a gas grill, for 5 minutes then turn and cook another 5 minutes or until they reach your desired level of doneness.  The beets have great flavor with a bit of smokiness added to the beet flavor.  The salt and pepper compliment the sweetness of the beet and the texture is soft enough to easily cut with a fork but still firm enough to stick a fork in to pick it up and not be mushy when you put it in your mouth.


The salmon was simply seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.  The aluminum foil was sprayed with a nonstick spray to keep the skin from sticking.  It went on the grill over direct heat, about medium on the gas grill, and went until it was done, about 10 minutes in this case.  I prefer my salmon a bit less done than this was but it was still juicy, tender, and flavorful.


The turnip patties were a bit of an experiment.  A quick Google for turnip patties only got me recipes for Chinese turnip pancakes and the like.  So I decided to do similar to a potato patty made from left over mashed potatoes. 

A fine supper of grilled salmon, grilled beets, and fried turnip patties.

Fried Turnip Patties


1 pint canned turnips, drained
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
2 good pinches, about1 tsp, kosher salt
6 grinds, about 1/2 tsp, ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs each, minced Marjoram, Oregano, Cilantro
3 Tbs butter, for frying


Squeeze all the liquid from the turnips and put in a bowl and mash.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.  Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  When it's hot, drop the turnip mix in small portions.  I used a #20 portion scoop that is about 2.5 oz.  Fry until the bottom is brown then flip and fry the other side till it's brown.  Using the #20 scoop this made 5 patties.


Grilled salmon is fairly common but I hope you'll try both the grilled beets and the turnip patties.  It was so good and filling that we didn't eat any popcorn that evening while we watched a movie.


Uncle T

Chicken Parmesan Pizza

This started off as a "what do I do now" kind of thing.  I'd made chicken strips on Friday night to have as breakfast and lunch while hunting on Saturday.  Unfortunately, as I was walking in to the hunting area I slipped on a small downed tree trunk going up a hill and slightly pulled a back muscle trying to keep from falling.  After all, it's no fun falling with a climbing tree stand strapped to your back while carrying your rifle.  I decided to forego the evening hunt because sitting in the tree stand in the cold was causing my back to twinge more and more.  Thus, no need to eat the chicken strips for lunch.


A word about the chicken strips.  These are quick and easy and better than the frozen ones with the advantage of being able to season them according to your taste.  I cut the breast in half lengthwise though they could be cut into thirds for a thinner chicken strip.  I sprinkle hot Hungarian paprika on the bone side of the breast then roll the pieces in my seasoned flour.  I typically roll them in the flour twice after they've sat for a bit for a thicker coating.  A quick fry in a skillet and they are done.

Fried Chicken Strips

The drive home gave me time to contemplate what to do for supper.  I was wondering if I could use the chicken strips in some fashion and the realization that we'd not had pizza in a while hit me.  So, from an accident came the chance to experiment and produce Chicken Parmesan Pizza.


I used the recipe for 10 minute pizza crust that I've talked about before.  Here's the post with the link to the pizza dough recipe,  Chicken Pizza.  As before, I prefer to make one large pizza rather than two smaller pizzas.  I really like this recipe for a quick pizza.

Fresh crust ready to build

Before I started on the crust, I got some marinara sauce started.  My basic sauce is some good canned tomatoes pureed then seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning.  Give it a good stir and bring to a simmer.  The garlic can be either garlic powder or a few cloves of garlic pureed at the same time as the tomatoes.  This is a good all around sauce for pizza, dipping fried mozzarella sticks, or as the base for spaghetti sauce.

Chicken on the pizza

The chicken strips were sliced crossways about 1/4 inch thick.  Once the marinara sauce was on the pizza dough, the chicken was arranged to give the best coverage.  The chicken then got a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese topped by shredded Mozzarella cheese.  Then it was in the oven on the pizza stone.

Ready for the oven

From start to finish this probably only took about 30 minutes or so.  If you choose to use a jar sauce you could cut that down by 5 to 10 minutes.  In regards to oven clean up I used parchment paper on the pizza peel instead of the usual corn meal.  The good wife had cleaned the oven prior to Thanksgiving so am trying to keep it clean for as long as possible.

Chicken Parmesan Pizza hot from the oven

If you like pizza, homemade is the way to go.  30 minutes start to finish beats any commercial pizza place any day.  Even if you get it delivered you'll be eating pizza sooner than you would if you ordered it.  With this pizza dough recipe and some basic ingredients from your pantry you can have hot fresh pizza made according to your preference.


Give this a try and let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Pork Chops with Hot Pepper Jelly and Orzo Mediterranean

A few weeks ago, a neighbor gave us a jar of hot pepper jelly.  She'd made a big batch for a nephew and then found this last jar.  It has good heat to go with the sweetness.  The plan was use it on some ribs but I kept forgetting about it. 

The pork chops were grilled to almost done then had a thick layer of the jelly smeared on them.  The pork chops got the usual pregrilling treatment, a sprinkle of salt and pepper with a dash of whiskey to add some flavor.  There are two keys to good pork.  The first is to use just enough seasoning to enhance the flavor of the pork but not overwhelm it.  The second is to not over cook the pork.  Pork is well cooked at 145 F and thus will stay moist and flavorful.

The Orzo Mediterranean came about last week as a way to use some of the tomatoes from the garden.  It comes together easily.  While we ate it hot,  the good wife and I both thought it would do well as a cold dish/salad.  I call is Mediterranean because ingredients come from all over the Mediterranean.  Last week we had it with Thessaly sausage and boiled okra.  Thessaly sausage is a lamb sausage from northern Greece.  Our was actually mutton since it was made from Rainbow the Ram.

Orzo Mediterranean, Boiled Okra, and Thessaly Sausage

Orzo Mediterranean

Orzo,
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz Feta cheese
2 - 3 oz olive oil
salt
pepper
Lebanese 7 spice
fennel seed
1 1/2 T Basil, minced
1 T Sage, minced
1 T Marjoram, minced
1 T Greek Oregano, minced

Cook orzo according to package directions or until desired doneness.  Pour olive oil in skillet and turn to medium heat.  Add the garlic and onions to the olive oil and sautee until translucent.  Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and continue to sautee.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, fennel seed, and the 7 spice.  When the orzo is done, use a strainer spoon to take out of the water and put into the skillet.  Once all the orzo is in the skillet, stir to mix everything up.  Keep stirring and simmering until a thickened sauce forms, you may need to add a bit more olive oil.  After it has come together, taste and adjust seasoning.  Add the fresh herbs (Basil, Sage, Marjoram, Greek Oregano) and stir.  Top with the Feta cheese and stir to combine.  Serve and enjoy.

Orzo Mediterranean, Pork Chop with Hot Pepper Jelly, Boiled Okra

The Lebanese 7 spice is probably the same a generic Arabic 7 spice and can be found in any store carrying Middle Eastern spices and foods.  I call it Lebanese because the store I get it and my olive oil from is owned and run by a Lebanese family.  There is familly still in Lebanon overseeing the olive groves and running the olive oil processing plant.

As you see, a little experimentation in the kitchen yields some excellent results.  I hope you give this recipe a try and do some experimentation of your own.

Uncle T

Pressure Cooker Black Beans and Roasted Chicken Tacos with Kohlrabi Slaw

Boy, that title is a mouthful.  Oh well, it can't be helped since I want to be able to find things by looking at the titles.


I was trying to figure out what to have for supper using the leftover roast chicken from the other night.  One idea was just straight leftovers from that meal plus some extras thrown in and the other was chicken tacos and black beans.  Obviously the chicken tacos won out.  Once tacos were settled on then came the question of what to put in them with the chicken.  Having two Kohlrabi left I decided to improvise a slaw for the tacos to give some crunch and some added texture.


For the black beans I used some of the dry beans from our garden this year.  I'll save the canned ones for making a black bean hummus.  Since this was decided on last minute that meant I'd get to play with my electric pressure cooker.  I tried a new seasoning mix with this batch and I believe this will now be the go to recipe for us.


I also had the choice of either using store bought flour tortillas or making tortillas with masa.   Oh by the way, I don't have a tortilla press.  Given the time that the black  beans would take I elected to make the tortillas.  Making them myself meant they'd be fresh and they'd be smaller and more like what you'd get from a street vendor.  I used a recipe from Chef Rick Bayless.  I would prefer corn tortillas over flour tortillas for this application.


In the end, the good wife and I each ate two servings of everything.  Needless to say, we skipped having popcorn last night.  Yes, the black beans especially were that good.


Pressure Cooker Black Beans


2 cups dry Black Beans
4 - 6 oz bacon
1 medium onion
1 - 2 tsp salt
1 - 2 tsp pepper
1 - 2 tsp roasted ground cumin
6 cups water
2 Tbs oil


Put oil in pressure cooker and turn on sear function to get hot.  Cut bacon into thin match sticks.  Add to the pressure cooker.  Finely dice the onion and add to pressure cooker once the bacon has started to render and brown a bit.  Stir the onion and bacon together and cook till the onion starts to turn translucent.  Add the salt, pepper, and cumin and stir.  Add the 2 cups black beans and stir.  Put in the water and put the lid on the pressure cooker.  Program the pressure cooking function for 45 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, release pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Stir well and serve.  They can be garnished with cilantro if desired.


I used part of a package of ends and pieces from slicing my last batch of bacon but any good bacon will work.  The 6 cups of water makes a fair bit of broth so if you don't want quite as much reduce it to 5 cups.

Kohlrabi slaw

 Kohlrabi Slaw


2 Kohlrabi
1 medium carrot
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Shred the kohlrabi and the carrot.  Put in a bowl and add the salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Add the olive oil and apple cider vinegar and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

The apple cider vinegar was made in my kitchen at the end of last year's cider.  I should probably do a post about that since the flavor is better than what is commercially available.  Apple cider vinegar is easy to do and would be a good into to home fermentation.  Plus, a tablespoon or two added to a glass of water makes a tasty drink.

Tortillas


1 3/4 cup masa harina

1 cup plus 2 Tbs hot tap water

Put both in a bowl and mix till a smooth dough is formed.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Divide into 15 pieces and form into balls.  Flatten to 1/8 inch thick with tortilla press.  Cook on griddle.  Put on a towel and cover to hold till all are cooked. 

The best griddle is one that covers two burners on the stove but two skillets can be used also.  Turn one burner on medium and the other on medium high.  After you remove the tortilla from the press put it on the side that is on medium.  Let it cook for 30 seconds.  Flip it and move to the medium high side.  Cook till brown spots appear.  Flip and cook the other side till brown spots appear.

As I said previously, I don't have a tortilla press.  I put a square of plastic wrap on my cutting board, put a masa ball in the center, covered it with another square of plastic wrap, then flattened it with a cake pan.  If it wasn't quite thin enough I finished it with a rolling pin.

To build the tacos, start by laying two of the tortillas on a plate slightly over-lapping.  Put a good layer of Kohlrabi slaw down the middle.  Then top it with chopped roast chicken.  Serve with a bowl of Black Beans.

Black beans with Roasted Chicken Tacos

I hope you give these a try.  Black Beans are easy to find and they an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and dietary fiber not to mention they are quite tasty.  If you do give these a try let me know what you think.

Uncle T

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

One of my pet peeves about sweet potatoes is people wanting to put more sweet stuff on them.  Far too many recipes for sweet potatoes call for maple syrup and/or brown sugar all the while forgetting that they are called "sweet" for a reason.  I won't even comment on adding marshmallows to them.  In the long ago, my good wife would cut slices, put butter on them, then a little brown sugar and bake them.  Those were good since they weren't overly sweetened but as our tastes have changed over the years, I think those might be a bit too sweet.


Since this will be the first time in 10+ years that our son will be having Thanksgiving dinner with us the good wife promised him the classics from his childhood.  So in proper fashion, I'll be frying a turkey and making dressing and gravy.  The dressing and gravy I learned how to make from my maternal grandmother.  The good wife will be making green bean casserole, homemade rolls, pumpkin pie, and apple pie.  The only thing left is the sweet potatoes.

The base ingredients

The good wife had seen a sweet potato dish posted by a family member that had bacon and pecans that piqued our interest.  Unfortunately, there was no recipe.  She found several that seemed similar though.  The problem is that I don't like nuts in stuff.  I like eating nuts by themselves but not in other food.  So, I came up with my own thing.

Ready for the oven

The dish that resulted from my playing around in the kitchen was a tasty combination of sweet and savory and a contrast in textures.  The hardest part is cubing the sweet potatoes.  This recipe made two hefty servings for the good wife and me.  It would probably serve 4 with another side.


Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bacon


2 sweet potatoes
4 slices bacon
4 cloves of garlic
Fresh Rosemary, about 1.5 Tbs minced
salt
pepper
roasted ground cumin


Cut the sweet potatoes in 1/2 - 1 inch cubes and put in a mixing bowl.  Mince the garlic and Rosemary and add to the sweet potatoes.  Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch lardons.  Cook the bacon in a skillet until just starting to crisp.  Remove bacon from skillet and pour about 2 Tbs of the bacon grease over the sweet potatoes.  Toss to coat everything.  Add a bit more bacon grease if necessary.  Add salt and pepper to taste, I used pinches that would come to about 2 tsp each, tossing to mix as each is added.  Put sweet potatoes on baking sheet in a single layer.  Sprinkle a bit of roast ground cumin over them.  Bake in 385 F oven for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn the sweet potatoes over.  Return to the oven for another 10 minutes.  Transfer sweet potatoes back to a bowl and add the bacon and toss.  Serve and enjoy.

Fresh from the oven

Thanksgiving's Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

These made a great accompaniment to strip steaks cooked in a cast iron skillet with butter.  The remaining drippings were used to make a flavorful pan sauce to top the steak.  Since sweet potatoes are good for you this is a dish that can take them out of the holiday season. 

Butter fried steak with roasted sweet potatoes

Give them a try and I think you'll become a fan.  As always, you can change the seasonings around to suit your palate.






Uncle T

Fried Turkey Soup

Yes, soup made with fried turkey.  This came about from needing to use the remains of the Thanksgiving turkey. 


We really like fried turkey and don't reserve it for holiday meals only.  There are plenty of tutorials on turkey frying on Youtube if you've never done one and want to try.  I don't usually inject my turkey though many recipes call for it.  I just rub the skin with the seasoning of my choosing which happened to be Uncle T's seasoning blend #1 which is a Cajun style blend.  Give fried turkey a shot if you've never had/done one.

Fried Turkey, ready for slicing

The first part of this soup came from using the bones for making a rich broth.  With the breast meat, wings, and legs removed for slicing you have most of the bones in one place.  I use the pressure cooker to make broth now, it's much quicker that way.  The back, keel bone, wing tips, and thigh bones went into making the broth along with a couple of cups of water.  The little bit of meat left on the bones got picked off once the broth was done for use in the soup.


The only other ingredients used, other than left over turkey, were kale and mushrooms.  A simple, rich, tasty soup to drive the chill away.

Fried Turkey Soup

Fried Turkey Soup


4 cups turkey broth
12 oz left over fried turkey
8 oz mushrooms
4 - 6 cups Kale, chopped
olive oil
salt
pepper
Cajun seasoning


Put turkey broth in a pan and bring to a simmer.  Chop turkey into bite size pieces.  Slice mushrooms.  Add kale to the turkey broth.  Using a little olive oil, sautee the mushrooms (seasoned with salt and pepper) until lightly browned.  Put the mushrooms in the pan with the kale.  Add a bit more oil to the skillet and do a quick fry on the turkey.  Season the turkey with some of the Cajun seasoning.  Once the turkey is hot, put it in the pan with the rest of the soup.  Let simmer for another 15 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.  This recipe serves two if that is all that is being eaten.  It could feed 4 if you have some crusty bread or something to accompany the soup.


Give this a try.  It sure beats eating yet another turkey sandwich.

Roast Chicken and Kohlrabi Fritters

Kohlrabi?  Really?  I'd never heard of Kohlrabi until I had been in the Army for several years.  It just wasn't part of the small town Southern foodway with which I was familiar.  Even after learning what it was and how to inspect it we still didn't eat it since we didn't know what to do with it.  A friend grew some in his garden this past Spring and that got me thinking about it.  We were at the nursery to buy cole crop sets for the Fall garden when I came across some Kohlrabi.  The 4 experimental Kohlrabi were harvested last week and two of them were cooked for supper last night.

Kohlrabi is related to cabbage.  Instead of forming a head the base of the stalk swells to a globe shape.  They are best harvested when the globe is 3 - 4 inches in diameter.  The leaves and stalks can also be eaten and can be prepared like you would cabbage or collard greens.  The globe can be eaten raw, steamed, stir fried, and roasted.  Basically you can use it like you would use any root vegetable.

Roast chicken from what I hear seems to be one of those things that people are hesitant to try.  Good roast chicken is a wondrous thing but the great fear is plating up a dried out chicken for family and friends.  Now, with every grocery store and big box store having grab and go rotisserie chicken there is even less incentive to roast one at home.  The downside of this is lesser quality in exchange for convenience.  I'm here to tell you that roast chicken can be done in an hour with excellent results.  Moreover, you can get that excellent result with minimal ingredients.

Browned and ready for the oven

As with all dishes, getting a good bird to start with will let you end with a great product.  You can go the free range organic route if you so choose but to my mind it is not necessary.  Just don't get some brand nobody ever heard of.  Give the bird a good look and make sure it is well fleshed and the skin is white or white with a slightly yellow cast.  I can't prove it, but I believe you'll end up with a better result if you use a fresh chicken rather than a previously frozen bird.

Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken
salt
pepper
4 Tbs oil
1 large white onion
4 cloves garlic

Dry the chicken inside and out.  Let the chicken come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.  Liberally season both inside and outside with salt and pepper being sure to rub them into the skin.  Cut the onion in half and slice each half into 1/4 inch slices and separate.  Slice the garlic cloves and add to the onion.  Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Put 2 Tbs oil in a cast iron, preferably, skillet and get hot.  Place the chicken in the skillet back down and brown for a few minutes.  When it is browned to your liking, turn the chicken to one side and brown.  Do the same for the other side and then the breast.  Once the chicken is browned on all sides remove it from the skillet.  Add oil to the skillet if necessary and add the onion and garlic.  Stir them around and start to sweat them.  Put the chicken on top of the onion and garlic breast side up and put in the 425 F oven.  Check the temperature in the thigh after 35 minutes.  Once the thigh reads 168 F remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.  Cut into the desired serving size and enjoy.  The onions and pan drippings can be used to cover the chicken when plated or they can serve as the base for a good gravy.

Hot from the oven

Kohlrabi Fritters

2 Kohlrabi
1 egg
1/4 - 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1/4 - 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
oil

Peel and shred the Kohlrabi with the box grater into a mixing bowl.  Add the egg, flour, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.  Cover the bottom of a skillet with oil and get it hot.  Put spoonfuls of the fritter mixture in the skillet and flatten slightly.  Cook till brown, about 3 minutes, and flip.  When that side is brown remove the fritter to a cooling rack to drain any excess oil.  Repeat until all the fritters are done.  This fed my good wife and me.

A Kohlrabi and a bowl of shredded Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi fritters ready to eat

Both of these were part of an excellent supper that only took about an hour.  A side benefit of roasting a chicken this way is that there is time to flour and fry up the heart, liver, and gizzard to eat as appetizers.  Remember, don't forget to eat the organ meats.

Roast chicken, Kohlrabi fritters, and boiled okra

Give these two recipes a try and let me know what you think.  The fritters made me glad we bought 6 more sets for the garden.  Try some unusual vegetables and see what you think.  Google is your friend when trying to find how to use them. 

Uncle T

Fermented Jalapeno Peppers and Hot Sauce

I've written before about home fermentation and making sour kraut and kimchi.  I've decided to expand my fermenting endeavor and do new things.  After all, it only takes minimal ingredients and time.

No special equipment is required for this but there is lots available if you want to get into it in a big way.  They make stoneware crocks with weights and water seals that are rather pricy and on the cheap end there are caps to fit mason jars with air locks on them.  Since my good wife cans much of the produce of our garden I simply use mason jars and the regular lids.

Since Uncle T likes his hot sauce and has come up with a few recipes I added my own twist to a technique I found online.

Fresh jalapenos from the garden I believe work best but the next best source would be a farmer's market.  Produce in the stores typically are well cleaned prior to shipment so the natural bacteria required for fermentation have been removed or greatly reduced in number.  Another reason I prefer to grow my own is that the nursery I get my sets from carries a variety that is a bit hotter than those found in stores.

A fresh picking of Jalapenos from the garden

I didn't count how many jalapenos went into the jar.  It wouldn't matter because it all depends on the size of your peppers.  To prepare the jalapenos all you have to do it pull off the stem and cap then crush the jalapeno with the heel of your hand.  Crushing them isn't necessary but it will let you fit more in the jar and let the brine get to the interior of the pepper.

2 quarts of Jalapenos merrily fermenting away

All you have to put in is peppers but other things can be added to increase the depth of flavor of the final product.  This is your place to experiment.

Fermented Jalapeno Peppers

15 - 20 Jalapeno peppers
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1.5 Tbs black peppercorns
1/2 Tbs mustard seed
1/2 Tbs coriander seed
2 cups water
1 Tbs salt

Take the stem and cap off the Jalapenos.  Put the garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed, and coriander seed in the quart jar.  Start putting the Jalapenos into the jar.  They will fit better if you crush them a bit prior placing in the jar.  Leave a 1/2 inch of space below the rim of the jar.  Fill the jar with the brine all the way to the rim.  Put the lid on and lightly tighten the ring.  Let sit at room temperature anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months.  Start tasting at 3 weeks and continue until the desired level of sourness has been reached. 

Make sure the jar is in a cake pan since the gas formed by the fermentation process will push some of the brine out of the jar.  You may need to go back in a few days and add more brine to the jar.

These can be eaten just as they are as pickled Jalapenos.  If you want to stop the fermentation process put the jar in the refrigerator when you are happy with the results.

Fermented Jalapeno Hot Sauce

Strain the brine from the jar.  Put the Jalapenos and garlic in a food processor or the Vitamix like I did.  Add a bit of the brine and puree.  Add more brine to get to the desired consistency.  This makes a hot sauce that has both heat and excellent flavor.

Straining the brine

Freshly pureed fermented hot sauce

Some people will puree the peppers prior to starting the ferment.  Using this method means you'll have to open the jar and stir the mixture.  This seems like needless work to me.  Many times people using this method will have to strain the mixture to get a smooth hot sauce.  To me, fermenting is and should be a low effort method of preservation that yields great results.

Give fermentation a try.  You'll like the results and you'll get the benefit of natural probiotics.

Uncle T

Korean Inspired Pork Belly

One of the side effects of processing my own meat is left over odds and ends.  In Uncle T's kitchen nothing goes unused.  Most odds and ends get cut up for stew meat and some get ground.  Pork belly is unique in that the parts cut off to square the belly for bacon have a high percentage of fat.  The amount of fat is too much to use for stew meat and the pieces are too odd shaped for most pork belly recipes.

What happens in my kitchen is that much of the fat is cut off the belly pieces and gets frozen for later use in venison sausage.  The remaining lean and fat gets cut into bite size pieces for this recipe or one similar.  I came on this because I had to buy some pork belly slices from the Asian store to get some pork fat to use in making blood sausage.  I cut the lean out, seasoned it, and did a quick fry in a small skillet and was blown away by the flavor.

If you are in the mood for some Korean inspired food then this meal is for you.

Korean Inspired Pork Belly

1 lb pork belly
1/4 - 1/2 cup coarse Korean pepper powder (Gochugaru)
salt
2 Tbs sesame oil

Cut pork belly into bite size pieces and spread on a plate.  Sprinkle with salt, a couple of good pinches, and the Gochugaru according to desired spiciness level.  Mix the meat to ensure even coating.  Heat the sesame oil in a skillet.  When hot add the seasoned pork belly.  Stirring often, quick fry the pork belly until done.  Serve and enjoy.

Seasoned pork belly ready to fry

We tend to do this for a simple meal and serve it with rice and Kimchi.  Since I make my own Kimchi, (posted 9 July 15) we always have some on hand.  This meal can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Pork belly with rice and Kimchi

I know this is a short post but you can't really elaborate on simple goodness.  Give pork belly a try.  If you don't want the spiciness of Korean pepper then used your preferred spice blend.  Due to the popularity of bacon green pork bellies now cost a bit more than they used to but they are still a good treat on the supper table.

Uncle T

Boeuf Bourguignon

In my experience, this is one of the most talked about dishes done by Julia Child.  I can remember hearing about it for years.  I wasn't into classic French cookery enough to worry about it and we were never at any restaurant where it was served.  Fast forward to a couple of years ago and my good wife brings in the movie, Julie and Julia.  If you are not familiar with this movie, it is the story of a woman that sets a goal of cooking her way through Julia Child's book the Art of French Cookery with flashbacks to Julia Child's life. Boeuf Bourguignon is portrayed by Julie as a challenge she is not ready to accept until later in the movie.  Indeed, her first attempt is a dismal failure.  In the end, she makes a great Boeuf Bourguignon.  The movie is worth watching if for nothing else than to learn more about Julia Child's life.

A few months ago, I bought a beef chuck roll and processed it into roasts of various sizes, some stew meat, and some chuck eye steaks.  Then, about a month ago, we were at a wine tasting featuring French wines.  One of those sampled was a nice Burgundy and the wheels started turning.  We bought that bottle and labeled it as being specifically for Boeuf Bourguignon.

During the recent holiday I decided that supper that night should be the Boeuf Bourguignon.  I used a combination of Julia Child's techniques and modern techniques.  A Google search of recipes will show that most modern recipes throw everything together and then serve it after cooking.  Basically a beef stew by a different name.  The classic technique involves removing the meat and straining the remaining stuff to be left with a smooth rich broth.  The beef and bacon lardons are added back to the broth and pearl onions and mushrooms are stirred in and you're ready to serve.  That's the quick and dirty version anyway.

I had a package of peppered bacon ends from slicing some bacon a while back so I cut them into match sticks rather than lardons and it was removed with the seasoning vegetables.  The herb bundle came from my herb garden.  To reduce cooking time, I cut the meat into 1 inch cubes rather than the 2 inch cubes Julia Child calls for.  So, the recipe as follows is how I did it.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Boeuf Bourguignon

2 - 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
6 - 8 oz bacon, chunk is best
1 lb carrots
1 medium/large white onion
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 lb baby bella mushrooms
10 oz pearl onions
1 bottle Burgundy wine
1 container beef broth
Herb bundle containing Parsley, Basil, Bay leaves, Thyme
2 - 4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup Brandy, divided
flour
vegetable oil
3 Tbs butter
salt
pepper

It is best to get everything ready before you turn the stove on.  The fancy term is mise en place.  Dice the onion and two of the carrots to a fine dice and put in a bowl together.  Cut the stems from the mushrooms and put the diced stems in with the onion and carrots.  Slice the garlic and add to the bowl.  Cube the chuck roast and spread out on a tray.  Cut the bacon into either matchsticks (modern) or lardons (classical) and put in a separate bowl.  Cut the remaining carrots into 1 inch slices.  Now you're ready.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cubed beef.  Sprinkle beef with flour and toss to coat adding more flour if necessary.  Put your Dutch oven on the stove with the bottom coated with oil and turn on Med-High heat.  Start browning the beef being sure not to crowd it.  Brown at least two sides and remove to a plate.  It took 5 batches to get mine done.  There should be a good layer of fond on the bottom of the pot.  After the beef is done, add the bacon to the pot.  Let it cook till it's brown and has rendered its fat.  For the classical approach, remove the lardons to the plate with the beef.  For the modern approach, add the diced vegetables to the pot with the bacon.  Cook and stir until the onions start to turn translucent.  Stir in the tomato paste.  Add 1/3 cup Brandy and allow the alcohol to cook off.

Now the fun begins.  Add the beef, and bacon if using the classical approach, back to the pot.  Add the sliced carrots on top.  Pour in the bottle of Burgundy.  Add beef broth until the meat and carrots are covered.  Bring the whole to a boil then turn off the stove.  Put the herb bundle in the middle of the pot and put the lid on.  Put pot in the oven and cook for 2 hours.  During this time, prep the pearl onions by cutting off the ends and removing the dry outer skin.  Prep the mushrooms by cutting them in quarters.

After 2 hours, check the beef.  If it is fork tender, and 1 inch dice should be, remove the pot from the oven.  Remove the beef and carrots to a plate.  Pour the rest through a strainer and catch the gravy in a pot.  Wash the cooked vegetables in the strainer with beef broth till all the good gravy is in the pot.  You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups in the pot.  Put the pot on the stove and bring to a simmer.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the pearl onions and try to get them evenly browned all around.  You just need a hint of golden color.  Remove the onions to a bowl.  Add the mushrooms to the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  They will soak up the butter.  Let them cook until they start to brown then shake the skillet to turn them.  Add the remaining 1/3 cup Brandy to the skillet and let the alcohol burn off.  If you want to get fancy you can burn it off to make it go faster.  Just don't burn down the kitchen.

Now, add the beef and carrots back to the original pot.  Pour the gravy over the beef and carrots.  If the gravy is too thin, thicken with a bit of corn starch and water before you pour it in.  Add the pearl onions and mushrooms.  Stir to combine and bring everything to a simmer.  Remove from heat and serve. 

Notes:
Next time I'll reserve some of the wine and use more beef broth at the beginning.  The reserved wine would then be added at the end to have a more pronounced flavor.

The chunks of carrot are a modern addition.

A rich tasty supper

We had hot crusty bread with it.  It can also be served with noodle, potatoes, or rice.

A good enameled cast iron Dutch oven works very well.

Enameled cast iron Dutch oven.  This one was a thrift store find.

If you can't find a good Burgundy wine then use Pinot Noir as they are from the same grape.


It is a fair bit of work but the results are well worth it.  My total time was about 3 hours compared to the 6 or 7 required for the completely classical preparation.  I hope you give this a try.  I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Uncle T