The Lazy Gourmet

[Spacy]

Tried to do a cassoulet last night.

Subbed in one thing, then another, then a few more, until finally - I reinvented what basically was Red Beans and Rice. 

[E_T]

just a different way of doing it...  how did it turn out?

[Unorthodox]

Last week was a week of experiments all the way round. 

First, new way of making Tikka Masala.  I keep trying to simplify this down, but was testing an idea where I just can the tomato sauce and have premade jars ready to go.  Test recipe for the canning worked quite well, and will cut this down to a 30 minute easy meal.  Not really easy, since it takes hours to boil down the tomatoes to the near-paste for the recipe, but it makes easy later. 

Then it was home made ramen. 

Caveat: I've never so much as eaten an instant ramen, or any variety thereof, and wasn't following much of a recipe.  Just a general idea of what was in it and what sounded good to me.  Something in the realm of a Shōyu ramen is what I ended up making.  Unable to find ramen noodles that were not in an instant variety, I used rice noodles instead as well, able to find a variety that didn't add corn starch. 

Ended up being very good, with pork, beans and egg on top. 

Finally, in the list of Uno had never tried before was a meatloaf.  I normally dislike red meat, but had been craving meatloaf for a little while.  (not that I particularly LIKE either my mom's or hEt's) So, I modified my meatball recipe to something more savory and did a loaf.  Something of a 'proper Sunday dinner', which is not the kind of thing I normally cook.  Come out wonderfully. 

[E_T]

And the recipe (for the meatloaf) is??

[Unorthodox]

Uh... 

[Unorthodox]

Lessee..

I started with this, what I use for meatballs, only I use their spicy sausage:

http://www.johnsonville.com/recipe/italian-meatballs.html

So, for the meatloaf, it was:

2 lbs ground beef  (85/15)
1 lb garlic sausage (though any kind would work I was wanting to try the new garlic flavor)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I use a locally procured italian seasoned breadcrumb)
3/4 cup parmesean cheese
1 cup catsup
~2 T Savory
~1 T Marjoram
~2 T Dijon mustard
Finely chopped onion (one small yellow)
4 cloves garlic
~2 T Hickory Smoke Salt. 

I'm notorious for not taking measurements on my spices, but anything with a ~ should be close, and at least gives you a reference. 

350 oven 1.5 hours, though I had made it the night before and put in the fridge overnight, so going from room temp might only take an hour. 

[Rusty Edge]

That meatloaf sounds great.
But I must admit that pretty much any meatloaf appeals to me. I guess it's my comfort food. My wife doesn't like it, so it's not something I'd make at home. I will order it when I see it on the menu.


We had eggplant fries last night, and my wife liked it better without the skin. Now she wants to know if I can put a coating on them. I said I'd try Panko crumbs or something next time.

Typical niece dining night. First there's plus 3, then +another , then two cancellations after I've already prepped. I'd be shocked if the ones that showed up where the same and only ones that said they were coming on any given night. So, I was originally planning to grill boneless pork chops and serve with a Japanese sweet potato/cauliflower mash combination. Then I decided to go mixed grill ( chicken, salmon, cauliflower ) and add a couple steaks. With that I made 4 cheese pasta and wine reduction again. This time I simply used less milk to begin with, and a third more cheese. ( 2 cups rather than a cup and 1/2 ) Well, grating a half cup of each was simpler anyway. I used a little bit of fruit pectin to thicken the wine reduction, sprinkling the dust across the top of the reduction and incorporating it just before dinner time. It worked well. By some miracle I had everything cooked perfectly and ready to plate at the designated hour. One exception. The two steaks. They were rare and medium rare, and I was aiming for medium well and well done, according to the guest preferences. I don't think I got them completely thawed. Oh well. This is why God invented microwaves. Well that and melting chocolate with 15 second pulses instead of goofing with a double boiler.

[Rusty Edge]

In other news I processed sweet corn for freezing, always looking for ways to improve things since I do it all myself, without help.  This year I tried this tool. http://www.chefsresource.com/kuhn-rikon-corn-zipper-cob-handle.html?cmp=bingshopping&kw=kuhn-rikon-corn-zipper-cob-handle&utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(roi)+shopping+-+brand&utm_content=kuhn+rikon&utm_term=&utm_device=c&msclkid=6a53c12d2d991fc3d1659a47702ba80c

I thought it did a nice consistent  job and saved time.

[Spacy]

The rice/bean/sausage dish worked out well enough.  Ate leftovers for the past couple of meals and still have enough for 1 more meal - and I hate leftovers.

Was looking at a meatloaf for the next day or two.  Local butcher had a deal on veal, so have equal parts (1/2 lbs each) ground pork shoulder, veal (stew cuts) ground and very lean ground beef.  I hate onions, though, so not sure how I am going to spice this up.  May have to add some fat in the mix for flavor, as well, as the only fat is from the pork.  Could just add some bacon.... not sure. 

Tonight is Peanut Butter, Honey & Banana pancakes, side of bacon.  Been years since I made this, gotta remember the recipe.  Not my normal pancakes (which are thin like creps) but bisquick thick - and I ain't got no bisquick, so making from scratch.  Cannot be too hard, though. 

[Rusty Edge]

I don't stomach fresh onions and peppers very well. So, for seasoning's sake I would normally use dried onions or smoked paprika instead. Or perhaps a dried potato chip dip or dried onion soup mix.


Things are usually better with bacon.

[Rusty Edge]

Tonight I made a classic BLT for my wife, and a Caprese salad with Modena for myself. 

YEAH, I know. Modena on it isn't authentic, but it's tasty. So was the Canadian bacon I had with it. I figured the fresh mozzarella slices are round, the tomato slices are round, so why not? BLT-esque.  I really enjoyed it. I must remember to do that more often.

[Elok]

I like how I inadvertently spawned an immortal thread here.  Not cooking much ATM, since Michael knocked out most of the grocery stores.  At least we have power, and enough ingredients hauled down from my BIL's in Alabama to avoid eating yet another "nutrition bar," or whatever they're called.

[Rusty Edge]

I like how I inadvertently spawned an immortal thread here.  Not cooking much ATM, since Michael knocked out most of the grocery stores.  At least we have power, and enough ingredients hauled down from my BIL's in Alabama to avoid eating yet another "nutrition bar," or whatever they're called.

I'm glad you started it. Everybody eats, even if we don't cook regularly.  I hope your life has been restorded to normal now.



SHRIMP BOATS

Well, they're spring rolls, only in Romaine lettuce boats instead of deep-fried pastry. I stir-fried baby shrimp, mushrooms, purple cabbage and a shredded carrot. I added some slivered almonds, unsweetened shredded coconut, and some coconut aminos ( soy sauce alternative) at the end.


I meant to add some sesame and ginger, but was out of sesame seeds and oil, and forgot about the ginger. What I liked about it was that the I could identify many of the individual textures and flavors as I ate. Also, this looked good. Purple-orange-white-greyish-black. Sort of Halloweenish. I could see this as something brought to the table and let people self-serve. Drawbacks- 1) if the contents are too hot they wilt the romaine, 2) a lot of moisture in this food, thus- it can be as messy as it is tasty and healthy.

[Elok]

Mostly we're fine.  They're getting the Piggly-Wiggly open again, so we can even eat real produce soon, hopefully.

[Geo]

Two weeks after it hit you? That's a long time to get food distribution going again.