Thanks, Devlyn! I'll have to try that.

I take it a step further. I brown hamburger in the pan, drain the fat and add garlic, cook one minute, add a chopped onion, cook a couple minutes, then I add wine, seasonings, the pasta, a can of tomato sauce and enough water to barely cover it all. Bring it to a rolling boil and cook it uncovered until the water has disappeared. I like to listen to it, when it changes from bubbling to sizzling, the water is gone. At this point, take it off the heat and test the pasta, if it needs more cooking just cover and let sit for ten or fifteen minutes. It takes some jiggering, but makes the best spaghetti you ever had. On that note, straght spaghetti is the hardest to use with this method.  Shapes are better.

Tonight I made shake 'n bake pork chops and carrots.

Last night, for company, I made slow-braised pork shoulder served over grilled polenta squares, a gratin of butternut squash and red peppers, and a salad of shredded collard greens with walnuts and pickled apple slices. My pal made apple crisp for dessert.

Tonight we'll be having leftover pork. It'll taste even better than it did yesterday.

Quote from: Tysilio on January 31, 2015, 05:31:35 PM
Last night, for company, I made slow-braised pork shoulder served over grilled polenta squares, a gratin of butternut squash and red peppers, and a salad of shredded collard greens with walnuts and pickled apple slices. My pal made apple crisp for dessert.

Tonight we'll be having leftover pork. It'll taste even better than it did yesterday.

1) What did you braise the shoulder in?
2) Pickled apples? Did you make them?

Hi Devlin!

1. Starting the day before, I rubbed the pork with a mixture of garlic, red pepper, freshly ground coriander and fenugreek, and salt -- also made some little slits in the meat and pushed some of the mixture in. Let it sit for a while (several hours is good). Then I browned it on all sides, cooked some chopped onions in the same pan, put them in a crock pot and added 2-3 cups of water. Cooked for about 6 hours, let it cool, and refrigerated it in the liquid. The next day I removed the fat from the surface and slowly reheated it. Strained the juices, reduced them by about half, and added some balsamic vinegar; then turned the juices into a thicker sauce. (I added cornstarch/cold water -- next time I'll do it properly and make a roux.) Combined sauce and meat, heated through, added about half a cup of chopped cilantro, served.

You can do this with all sorts of spice combinations: I'm also fond of using one with allspice, juniper berries, and hot pepper -- and of course you can use any combination of water, stock, wine, cider, or even beer.

2. Yes -- they're easy and delicious. Next time I'm going to make 4 times the quantity and keep the extra in the fridge.

2 red apples (nice crunchy ones)
    1/2 cup cider vinegar
    1 cup water
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 tsp salt
    1 T peeled, sliced ginger
    1/2 tsp allspice berries
    1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
    1 cinnamon stick
    1 star anise
Quarter, core, and slice apples lengthwise. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pickling spice in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add apples and return to a boil. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool. Chill, uncovered, until cold, overnight or longer -- they keep. Drain and remove spices before serving.

Quote from: Tysilio on January 31, 2015, 07:17:35 PM
Hi Devlin!

1. Starting the day before, I rubbed the pork with a mixture of garlic, red pepper, freshly ground coriander and fenugreek, and salt -- also made some little slits in the meat and pushed some of the mixture in. Let it sit for a while (several hours is good). Then I browned it on all sides, cooked some chopped onions in the same pan, put them in a crock pot and added 2-3 cups of water. Cooked for about 6 hours, let it cool, and refrigerated it in the liquid. The next day I removed the fat from the surface and slowly reheated it. Strained the juices, reduced them by about half, and added some balsamic vinegar; then turned the juices into a thicker sauce. (I added cornstarch/cold water -- next time I'll do it properly and make a roux.) Combined sauce and meat, heated through, added about half a cup of chopped cilantro, served.

You can do this with all sorts of spice combinations: I'm also fond of using one with allspice, juniper berries, and hot pepper -- and of course you can use any combination of water, stock, wine, cider, or even beer.

2. Yes -- they're easy and delicious. Next time I'm going to make 4 times the quantity and keep the extra in the fridge.

2 red apples (nice crunchy ones)
    1/2 cup cider vinegar
    1 cup water
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 tsp salt
    1 T peeled, sliced ginger
    1/2 tsp allspice berries
    1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
    1 cinnamon stick
    1 star anise
Quarter, core, and slice apples lengthwise. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pickling spice in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add apples and return to a boil. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool. Chill, uncovered, until cold, overnight or longer -- they keep. Drain and remove spices before serving.

Thanks! I made pulled pork in a crock pot using root beer as the cooking liquid with the onions, garlic, and spices, it came out really nice. My recipe for jalapeno wine makes a gallon and ends in a footnote: You'll wish you made five gallons.

Hugs, Devlyn

Hmm. I know some people use Coke, but I hadn't heard of using root beer.

Actually, it's pretty hard to go wrong when cooking pork this way.

Tonight's curry:


Also some chick peas and rice. Yum.

Chick peas (chana curry):

fish and chips likely as its 40 degrees Celsius or 104 Fahrenheit and I'm not cooking anything in that weather

I made this curry last night.

Too spicy for the kids though. And given that their mom is a vegetarian I was the only one eating it. But it was good!!!

Protip: to me, shan makes some of the better ready made spice mixes. Their biryani is pretty good.

Ooh, tonight I'm making a dirty rice soup. I'll start with some chicken sausage broken up, I'm hoping to find some chicken liver while I'm out today, browned with a nice fond on the bottom of the pan. With the meat set aside I'll deglaze and add short grain white rice, I can't have whole grains. For the vegie ellement I have a nice little red cabbage and some fresh basil that I'll shred. I'm also adding some gemelli pasta for texture at the end when I put the meat back in.

It will be so dern good! Even if I can't find any liver...

Props for saying chicken livers, nobody uses them anymore.  Down in WV there was a drive-in diner that would occasionally put out a sign "Pan fried chicken livers $7.95" The line would go down the street.

Hugs, Devlyn

Growing up, I always loved giblet gravy. When I hit my late teens I became a vegetarian and stayed that way for 12 years. But when I quit drinking and I began to question my whole sense of self I went back to meat. I wanted to have turkey and giblet gravy for Thanksgiving, reconnect with my family. Since then I have become an outright fan of organ meats. I started eating rabbit a year or two back and discovered that pan fried rabbit heart is one of the best tiny morsels on the face of the planet!

I could take the Blue Ribbon at any fair with my mashed potatoes and giblet gravy. How does a Bostonian learn that, you say? Southern girls taught me how to cook! 

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on March 02, 2015, 07:07:06 AM
I could take the Blue Ribbon at any fair with my mashed potatoes and giblet gravy. How does a Bostonian learn that, you say? Southern girls taught me how to cook! 

The secret to my mashed potatoes? Two sticks of butter for every five pounds of spuds and heavy cream. Alas, I have become lactose intolerant to an extreme degree. I think I od'd . As a vegetarian I lived on dairy. I was more of an ovo-lactitarian. I still don't care for veggies!

Anyway, drifting off topic...

This is 11 eggs (the dog got one) and 13 breakfast sausages (the dog got one). If you never hear from me again, you'll know what got me!

Made Shepards Pie in the slow cooker...with a kale salad

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on March 08, 2015, 03:37:25 PM
This is 11 eggs (the dog got one) and 13 breakfast sausages (the dog got one). If you never hear from me again, you'll know what got me!

I ate it all except the really crispy bits and washed it down with two root beers. Yeah, I was a lumberjack in a former life!