Sunday, January 29, 2012

Prime Rib Sandwich with Church Potluck Beans

I cooked a prime rib yesterday, so we had leftovers today. We had prime rib sandwiches with American cheese, and horseradish sauce. Beans and fresh vegetables on the side.
I sliced the meat thinly.

Then, quickly sauteed it on a cast iron griddle. I moistened it a bit while cooking with a bit of beef broth.
We didn't want to make another trip to the store this weekend, so yesterday, I made hoagie rolls. I split them and toasted them ahead of time, keeping them warm in the oven while heating the sliced meat.

So, you might ask about the Potluck Beans... basically, they are a throw together bean, with one tall can Bush's Country Style, one regular size can baby butter beans (rinsed and drained), and one can red (not kidney) beans (rinsed, drained). I fried some onion and bacon, added it to the beans. Put in a big squirt of catsup, and a medium squirt of mustard. Finished it off with a glug or so of molasses. yep. The baby butter beans is what makes it church potluck style. I could have put in lima beans, for emphasis, but, really did not want to go there.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Stuffed Pork Loin

Start by opening up the pork loin by making cuts. I looked up a how-to video on youtube.
After it was opened flat, spread with a stuffing. I used leftover Italian/Cracked Black pepper bread, a slice of whole wheat bread, cooked brown basmati rice, finely diced onion and celery, sauteed in bacon fat. It was seasoned with some sage. Added shredded Romano and Parmesan cheese.
Roll it up. Secure by tying the roast.
I browned it in the pan, then put it in the oven to roast to 165F internal temperature.
It took about two hours at 350-400F. Towards the end of cooking, I spread it with a mixture of coarse grain mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Let it rest before slicing.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Green Chili Pork Tacos

Start by roasting meat; I used pork. It was seasoned with salt and pepper. Partway through cooking, I added water to the pan, coming about halfway up the meat. I turned it several times.
While the meat was roasting/braising, I prepared the green chili.
I diced two Anaheim chilies, and one jalapeno, removing the seeds and ribs from the chilies before dicing. Also diced a small yellow onion.
Using a mortar and pestle, I crushed some cumin seed. In a saucepan, I sauteed the onions and chili peppers, adding the cumin. When the onion became translucent, I added a can of fire-roasted green chilies (mild), a chicken bullion cube and a small cube of cilantro (both Knorr products).
After adding some water, I brought the mixture to a boil. Then I put it in a slow cooker for several hours. After a bit, I used an immersion blender to puree it slightly.
I ended up taking out a couple of cups of the green chili to save for another time. Then, I put the roasted pork into the slow cooker. Then, I left the house to teach violin lessons.
When I came home, we had this with flour tortillas, lettuce, hot sauce (La Victoria Salsa Brava) and panela cheese.

Coconut Macaroons

These were really easy. I whipped 3 egg whites, added not quite a half cup of sugar, a pinch of salt. I had some unsweetened coconut flakes on hand, so put those in the food processor to finely chop.
I added the coconut to the beaten egg whites, some vanilla extract, and a couple of spoons (maybe a tablespoon total) cornstarch.
I baked them at 350F for about 12 minutes.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Nutty Caramel Apple Upside Down Spice Cake

In a saucepan, Melt brown sugar, butter. I cut up several apples that were in the fridge, they had seen better days. There were several different types. I cooked the apples in the sugar and butter for a bit. Added nuts. I had some leftover from the baked brie I made the other day. They were a mixed, cocktail type nut, a blend of macadamia, pecan, and almond.
I put the caramel, apple, nut mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan. I topped it with some cake batter: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, milk, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract.
I baked it for about an hour at 350F. Turn it upside down onto a serving plate while warm.
Serve with ice cream. Of course.

Just Because...


Chicken Little Pot Pies


I started by finely dicing the vegetables: shredded carrots, celery, onion, and sugar snap peas. Then, I poached the chicken,using tenders. I put some onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, black peppercorns, whole cloves in the water. When the chicken was done, I took it out, let it cool, then diced it. The broth continued to simmer and reduced. I strained it and set it aside.

In a sauce pan, I melted some butter and added the celery, onion, and carrot; cooked until onion was transluscent. I added some flour and cooked that a bit. Then, added the reserved chicken broth. Added another bay leaf, let it simmer. Seasoned with sage, pepper, marjoram, thyme.
After it cooked for awhile, I added the sliced sugar snap peas and diced, cooked chicken.

I set the filling in the fridge until I was ready to make the pies.
Using pre-made pie crusts (that come rolled up, in the refrigerated section), I cut out bottom and top crusts, using the largest of my biscuit cutters, and the next size down. I used a mini-muffin tin.

I filled the pastries, gave each a brush of egg wash, put the tops on, and used a tiny fork to crimp the edges. Egg washed the tops, cut a slit for steam to escape.
They baked at about 380F for 20 minutes.
Yum!


Peas-n-Carrots Coleslaw


This was a simple coleslaw, and oh, so good! Pretty self-explanatory, just julienne cabbage, chop shredded carrots, slice sugar snap peas thinly, and finely dice onion.






For the dressing, I used up a dab of sour cream left from the holidays, added it to some store-brand "whip" (seasoned mayo), added a bit of sugar, cracked black pepper, marjoram, and basil.




Wet-n-Dry Pork Ribs

The wet part was truffle-infused olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke. Put it on top of the meat, just enough to moisten.
The dry seasonings included garlic powder, black pepper, ancho chili pepper, and allspice. Sprinkled over the wet ribs.
The ribs were placed in a cast iron roaster, and spent most of the day in the oven, first low (265F), then later in the day, uncovered and turned the oven up to 350F. About halfway through, turned them upside down.
Finished in a low oven again, covered. They were fall off the bones tender.