Dateline: September 29, 2020 Grand Experiment With Too Many Ripe Tomatoes, Not Gazpacho

Yesterday was blustery and rainy.  Turning on the oven was a comfort.  I thought about all of the ripe heirloom tomatoes that I had sitting in a box on the counter and what could I do with them?  I was inspired by the idea of tomato pie, or tart but didn't want the hassle of a crust and blind baking.  I then thought, I could do a sformato of cheese and tomatoes, too much fuss, but the idea of cheese and tomatoes hit the right tone.  Put it on a savory waffle....YEAH.  I have been obsessing over savory waffles for a while, seems like this was the time to see if they can work.

So I made a ricotta tomatoes no crust layered creation.  

Ingredients for Cheese-y Tomato-y Thing-y 

2-3 lbs of ripe juicy tomatoes

1 large leek, cleaned and cut into quarter rounds

4 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed, and chopped

16 oz ricotta cheese

4 eggs

2 cups shredded cheeses of your choice, plus more for top

6 slices cooked bacon

handful chopped parsley

2 sprigs of thyme leaves

2 T torn or chopped fresh basil

nutmeg

hot pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Method

1.  Set oven at 350°.  Slice the tomatoes parallel to the top and bottom and place on a plate, or plates, in a single layer, and salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes or longer.

2.  Saute the bacon in a skillet until crisp.  Drain on paper towels.  Drain off all but 2 T or so of the bacon fat.

3.  In the same skillet heat remaining bacon fat and saute the leek until it starts to soften, add the garlic, salt and pepper as well as hot pepper flakes.  Line a bowl with some paper toweling and pour in the sauteed vegetables.  Spread out the veggies as much as possible so that most of the residual oil is absorbed.

4. Remove the paper toweling from veggies and add ricotta, eggs, parsley, basil, and nutmeg.  Mix well to combine.  Add the shredded cheeses of your choice.  I used manchego and tarentaise (an alpine type, washed rind cheese) because that is what I had in the fridge.  

5.  Prepare a baking dish that will hold everything.  Spray with cooking spray to make clean up easier.  Don't forget the rim of the dish!  Blot the tomatoes dry on the side facing up and put a layer of the not so nice looking ones on the bottom dried side down.  Blot the side that is now facing up.  Add a layer of the vegetable and cheese and half of the crisped bacon crumbled.  Add another layer of tomatoes, blotting and then putting that side down and blotting the upward facing side, top with cheese mixture and bacon.  Top with the best looking tomatoes, blotted again, and sprinkled the reserved cheese on top.  

6.  Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and put oiled side down on top of the casserole dish and seal enough to stay put.  Put casserole on a sheet pan to catch any overflow and bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake until browned and a little crusty on top.

7.  Allow to cool so that it firms up.  Make the waffles at this point.

                                            

Waffles

I used Aunt Jemima's pancake and waffle mix.  Doubled the recipe.  To make them savory, I topped the batter once in the waffle iron with chopped herbs.  I used rosemary, parsley, and thyme.

 

Bill tried a double waffle, had promise, but was too unwieldy to be recommended.

Would I make this again?  Probably not.  Why?  The tomatoes were excellent on their own, and they lost their essence of summer.  Would I tweak it to make it better?  Probably not.  Why?  Because the end result was not worth wasting good tomatoes.  However, the waffle was really good.  I'd make savory waffles again and again, heck, maybe even sweet ones!

September 26, 2020 Beef Barbacoa

This is a fool-proof, idiot-proof recipe.  You just need a smoker!  It is a riff on Kenji Lopez-Alt's recipe, Smoked and Braised Beef Barbacoa .  I did not use the oxtails, and have never used them.  The couple of times that I have made this recipe, it has been flavorful enough without the seared beefiness that the tails would bring.  

What did I do differently this time around?  I coated the roast with Gravy Master and then a dusting of Penzey's BBQ 3001 spice mix.  Into the smoker at 250° F it went for about 3.5 hours.  I used a mix of dried peppers, ancho, pasilla, guajillo, smoked serrano, and oaxacan.  I softened them until pliability in the dutch oven and then they went into the boiling chicken stock until they were totally softened, and I added ground habanero pepper to the spice mix.  

I think his timing of 3 hours at 250° F in the oven is based on an unrolled hunk of chuck roast.  I found that my rolled ones always take longer than that.  After 2 hours at 250°, I bumped the oven up to 350° and covered the pan completely.  After another 2 hours, it was done.  I just need to keep that in mind when I make this again, as I will!

I served it with flame toasted corn and flour tortillas and chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, chopped hot peppers, chopped jicama, and lime wedges.

 

Dateline: September 25, 2020 Vegetarian Indian Night With Friends

 Menu

Chana Masala

Saag

Achari Vegetables

Aloo Jerra

Rice

Meyer Lemon Chutney

Coconut Cilantro Chutney

I am so up for this!  I have been cooking up a storm this morning because I have to go out for about 1.5 hours and wanted to be sure that dinner would be ready for the 6 PM kick off.

The Chana Masala is from Urvashi Pitre as is the Aloo Jeera, I couldn't find on line the recipe that I used, but this one is very, very close.

Achari Vegetables recipe was one by Manali Singh.  I had never made it before, but love Achari chicken, so thought I'd try it.  It is fabulous!  I also used her saag recipe, with a few changes.  I did not use the corn flour, and I used collards, curly kale, and chard as the greens.  I did not have white radish, so I used a thick slice of jicama instead.  It turned out really well.  That's another keeper.

The Meyer Lemon Chutney and Coconut Cilantro Chutney are from Urvashi Pitre, as well.  I must say, they were easy and the meyer lemon is spectacular.  Reminds me of the tamarind chutney that is ubiquitous in Indian restaurants, but chunkier and thicker and soooooo much better.  The green chutney fresh from the blender was very garlicky, but mellowed with time in the fridge.  I used only 4 cloves instead of the 6.  It was also much better than what you get in restaurants!

Now, once again, I did not take photos.  Photos on the websites are so much better than I could have taken.  

The evening was lovely.  We started on the deck with Gwen and Tony, with the chutney's and papadum (which Bill made).  We moved inside for dinner and had a lovely time talking about everything and anything over the course of the evening.  The beer and wine flowed freely and Gwen and Tony seemed happy with their to go bags!

Dateline: September 23, 2020 Testing Out Grill Number 1

Bill always makes sure to tell any new visitors, and some returnees, that I have 3 grills.  Grill #1, Grill #2, and Grill #3.  I decided to give the unused, untested Grill #1 a run last night.

I was inspired by a suggestion from Servet that he could bring a made-to-order grill back from Turkey.  I got excited and then starting designing one.   As, I was undertaking that, I sadly realized, that the weight of it would be prohibitive in terms of stowing in your luggage or in a large box in cargo! 

I then started researching gaucho grills, which are the Argentinean style open grills with a moveable grill that you can raise and lower according to the heat and desired effect you'd like.  In comparing those to what I had decided to design, and lo and behold, they were quite similar.  I wanted to see if I could modify Grill #1 to be more like a gaucho style grill.  This is what I came up with.

If I add more thermal mass, it will hold the heat better but the trade off is that it will take longer to come to temperature and need more fuel.  I needed to see how Grill #1 ran in order to make some decisions.  D'uh!

The fire burned hot.  I used a chimney to start the lump charcoal and baby it was hot.  As the embers died down it became a more manageable fire.  I am still learning how to deal with open fire boxes!  I also have to deal with my impatience in terms of starting the cook.  I need to let the fire die a bit and cook over a slower fire.

I had a chicken in the fridge so, I was hoping to rotisserie it, but we couldn't locate the motors at the moment.  So I spatchcocked it and grilled it.  I dusted it with Galena Street from Penzey's and got out the pencil asparagus and left over delicata squash, and bingo, dinner was planned.

The pictures above are from 2 different sides of the grill.  The grill is basically a metal trough .

Here we are near the end of the cooking of the chicken.  It was moist and tasty with more than enough charry goodness to make me happy.

The modification I decided I would make was inserting a fire grate/ash pan combo unit so that I can empty the ashes out easily as there is no way to sweep out the ashes now, they have to be scooped or shoveled out.  This new contraption can be lifted out and dumped into the ash can.  It also has the added benefit of catching the grease and keeping the bottom of the grill less oily.

Next spin will be with the rotisserie.  We just need to locate the motors!

Dateline: September 20, 2020 Ribs and Panzanella

olive oil

I love the tail end of summer for the tomatoes alone.  I pulled a rack of baby backs from the freezer and used Penzey's Tsardust Memories rub on them.   I have never used it before and thought I should try it as I keep getting freebie packs with orders.  Shameless plug of Penzey's, they are a fabulous spice store.  They carry all sorts of interesting things, multiple types, are reasonable, and when you weigh price against quality, quality wins every time.  

Ribs

1.  Remove membrane from back with a table knife to start it, and then getting a grip with a paper towel, pull it off as best you can.  You don't have to do this, but as I am going to smoke them, the smoke penetrates better when I do.  Remove any large deposits of fat and save for sausages!

2.  Lightly oil both sides and liberally dust with the spice powder of your choice.  Rub it into every nook and cranny.

Method

I used the 3-2-1 method of smoking.  That is 3 hours at about 225°F, lots of smoke, then wrap them, and put them back on the smoker for 2 hours, and finally, unwrap and get temp up to 325-350 to crisp them up bit.

                   Check out the smoke ring!  Yeah, Baby!

Panzanella Salad

2/3 loaf of yesterday's bread, sliced into thick slabs                 and drizzled with olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, grated or pressed

1 -1.5 lbs of nice ripe tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

1 sweet onion, sliced into half moons

lots of basil leaves, torn

lots of parsley leaves, torn

salt

pepper

cumin

smoked paprika

red wine vinegar

Method

1.  Grill the bread until slightly charry and crisp.  Cut into bite sized pieces and put into a bowl large enough to hold everything.

2.  Top the bread with the onions, then the parsley, then the tomatoes, then the salt and pepper, cumin, and paprika, add the red wine vinegar and mix well.  Allow to sit so the bread absorbs the vinegar and tomato juices.  After an hour or so, taste a little bit.  Add more vinegar, salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over salad, add torn basil, and mix well.  Let sit, and taste again.  Adjust according to your tastes.  You can use sherry vinegar instead of red wine.  I like the pungency of the wine vinegar.

Nota Bene:  The ribs were incredibly tender and juicy.  I really liked the play of the sweetness of the rub with the ribs.  They were not overly sweet, just a touch along with some heat.  A very nice combo.  I may need to buy a big bag of Tsardust Memories.

The salad was wonderful.  I did need to add more salt.  I really like the crunch of the bread and don't care for the ones that homogeneous much of tomato pulp and bread mush.

Dateline: August 19, 2020 Preserved Lemon Chicken Thighs, Roasted Potatoes, and Zesty Collards

It was a whirlwind of a Saturday.  I had to run into see my GP for a pulmonary test.  Nothing horrid, just a routine test or blowing into things and trying not to pass out.  Which almost happened twice!  Then race home for a zoom call and prepare dinner.  Only after the call was over did I think about eating dinner.

I basically made the usual preserved lemon marinade, lemon, garlic, hot peppers, and olive oil.  I smeared the tights with this and put them on a sheet pan.  I also added some small white potatoes, for Bill, and I put some sweet potatoes on for me.  Into the oven it went, and we sat down to our zoom call.

What I Learned From This

1.  If you are going to be busy and cannot attend to the cooking process, use a lower oven temp.  By the time the call was over, the thighs were just short of shoe leather!  Tasty shoe leather, but not what I had hoped for.  The potatoes were perfect.  Add with the collards and we were set for a great dinner.  

2.  If you are going to have a drink, made sure that you have prepared everything ahead of time.  Trying to clear your head and chop a salad, not a great combo.

Dateline: September 18, 2020 Trying out Beyond Meat Burgers with Gazpacho

I am so curious about these meatless burgers.  From reading the package, I have to be extra careful not to overcook, but at the same time it needs to be brought to temp....conundrum!

In these waning days of summer, we want to spend as much time eating outside as we can.  Pretty soon, it will be either too cool, too windy, or both.  And then, the idyllic days of summer are over and we will be hunkering down until spring.  Given this covid situation, it may be spring 2022 before we emerge from this world wide nightmare.

I am going to forage through the veggie bin to see if there are veggies that can be grilled along with the burgers for a little more heft on the plate!

Ok, my opining begins:  They nailed the texture.  The color was not very appetizing, however that may have been due to the grill not being sufficiently hot to char-broil them on the outside.  The flavor was meh.  Don't know if I will ever purchase again as this was an experiment.  But, if someone comes for dinner and we are eating burger and they are vegan or vegetarian, then I will go with them.  Personally, I find the veggie burgers on the market that are grain based much more satisfying than these were.

Didn't take photos as they were quite unappetizing.  

However, the gazpacho was great!

 

Dateline: September 17, 2020 Sorta Hot Italian Sausages and Delicata Squash

Hot Italian Sausages, homemade grilled.  What could be better?  I can't think of anything right now!  The smell of the smoke, the smell of grilling meat, and the sizzle of the fat hitting the hot coals...  Quintessential Summer.

I made the sausages using Hank Shaw's recipe for hot italian sausages.  I didn't have the type of pimenton that he suggested, so I googled swaps and came up with gochugaru, korean hot pepper flakes that are used to make kim chee.  I know, I have these in the pantry.  Come on, don't be a hater!

They turned out not to be fiery enough.  I will either get the hot paprika called for in the recipe, or gerry-rig using gochugaru and cayenne.  To the left, are the finished sausages, drying out a bit before I cut them apart and bag them up.

To the left are the grilled sausages and the delicata squash.  All I did to the squash was to spray it with coconut oil cooking spray and then salt and pepper and then grill.  The delight of the squash is that Bill ate it!  No really, he ate it.  He 'hates' squash.  I think is it just a fear of starchy vegetables, but can't swear to that!  

Below is the happy meal, the sausage was moist, and flavorful and as mentioned, the squash was a keeper.  

Nota Bene:  As my technique making sausages improves, I am finding that I am getting a better sense of when or if the meat is going to bind well.  The smoked sweet italians did not bind well because I did not really spend enough time squishing the ground meat through gloved hands.  That emulsification process (the technical term for squishing), is more important than I originally thought.  I now know that no matter how coarse or fine the grind on the meat, I have to put in the time to squish it around and get it to stick to itself well.  The rule of hand is that if you grab a handful of the meat, squeeze it slightly, and then open your hand palm down, if the meat is emulsified, it will just stick and hang there, if it needs more work, it will fall off and not cling to itself.  

Dateline: September 16, 2020 Pork Puttanesca Sauce in the Instant Pot

 I had a pork shoulder defrosting on the counter.  Yes, it seems I always have a pork shoulder defrosting.  It was too large a hunk for the 2 of us, so I split it into two pieces.  One piece I ground to make hot italian sausages, and the other, I chunked up for this pork puttanesca recipe that I found on NYT Cooking site.

It came out better than I thought it would.  Comparing it to a long simmering ragu, it is not that.  But as a quick-ish nice sauce for pasta or polenta, it works.

What would I do differently next time?  I would use less tomato paste, it made the final product too sweet for my taste.  Comparing it to my regular puttanesca, I would give it an 8.  I really love my puttanesca sauce.  The olives and capers were lost as was the garlicky goodness.  I am supposing that that is a result of the pressure cooking.  So, next time, I would halve the tomato paste, halve the pork, double the garlic, olives, and capers, as well as the vinegar and sub another cup of wine for one of the 2 cups of water. 

As one of the comments stated, perhaps the dish would have benefited from searing the pork prior to cooking.  That may be another option going forward.  

Of course, I have no photos, naturally, because I had a margarita, and that was the end of thinking!  Photo on NYT site is exactly what it looked like, minus the polenta!  Took a picture the next day.  Horrors!  I was eating day old pasta!

Dateline: September 15, 2020 Lamb Keema and Roti

  

I had one pound of ground lamb that needed to be used in the fridge.  I was torn between lamb burgers or keema.  Keema won!  I decided to use Tejal Rao's recipe for roti.    I  happened to have the atta flour!  I know, I know, my pantry is not like many others.  I have tons of esoteric ingredients for the off chance that I want to make something Asian, or Mexican, or, Indian, or or or.... I am guessing that if you have whole wheat pastry flour that would work fine.  

I also used Tejal Rao's recipe for keema.  I used the lamb, mentioned above, but the recipe calls for ground beef.  I suppose you could use anything ground or minced up and it would still be delicious.  I used kashmiri red chili pepper instead of cayenne, and I could have easily used much more of it.  The dish did not have the zip that I wanted it to.  That's on me, not the recipe!

   

Onions waiting to get brown and crispy, and the blender waiting for tomatoes, ginger, and onions.

The sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper coming to the boil and waiting for the lamb to be added.

Lamb added and cooked until most of the sauce evaporates, and the oil comes to the surface.  I added peas, well, because it's customary, but the recipe does not call for them.  I also liked the added green.  I did use the mint and cilantro mix as well as a few chives from the garden.

The roti were fun and easy to make.  I used my tortilla press, I know, and made 16 balls instead of the suggested 12.  Why, because it was easier to create equal sized balls by dividing things in half over and over.  After the balls sat, I used pieces of parchment paper to sandwich them between the top and bottom of the press.  I found that the press made one section quite thin, so I rotated the pancake 1/4 turn and pressed it each rotation.  That way the edges were somewhat uniform.

As suggested in the recipe, I did lightly glaze one side with ghee, I know.  These were pretty darn good.  I think next time I will add a bit more salt to the dough and take it out of the bowl and knead it to create more layers.  They got somewhat puffy and when torn, showed the layers.  But, I want more layers!