Jan Smith's Cooked Salsa

My Mom made what I consider the best salsa in the world. I just loved it.  She cooked it, and canned it, and I loved it.  God rest her soul. I finally found something resembling her recipe in her notes.  I gave this a try, and the first time out of the gate it was good... but I'm thinking of ways to tweak it, which I will mention below:

• 4 Lbs of Tomatoes (I used Petite Cut Hunts Canned Tomatoes) - Fresh would probably be better, unless you get those nasty tasteless bastards.  If you use fresh, cut them up in the Cuisinart.  
• 2 Onions Minced (Cuisinart)
• 1 Red Bell Pepper (Red ones are sweeter.  They say they taste the same as green ones but that is bullshit.  Red ones are more expensive, but red ones ARE sweeter.
• 1 Small Can of Diced Green Chilis (I would definitely increase this next time and use a large can.  It was just too small).
• 1  Jalapeno chopped (I would use a small can of diced Jalapenos next time)
• 1  Tbsp of Garlic Minced
• 1/8th a cup of Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon of Salt
• 1 Handful of Cilantro (I'm thinking of add this after I cook it)
• 1 Tablespoon of dried Oregano
• 3/4 cup of distilled white vinegar (I might try a bit LESS of this next time)

In a large pot combined it all and bring to a boil.   Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes.  That's it!

So there it was.  Great salsa.  When I try it again adjusting things here or there, I'll let you know how it turns out.

October 28th Week Dinner Planning 2013

October 28th Week Dinner Planning 2013

Taking inspiration my beautiful wife I have three recipes ideas planned for this week and I would like to take you along on my journey as we explore various different versions of them, choose what we are going to do, and then see what the result turns out to be.

The three inspirations are as follows: Vermont Common Cracker Chicken with Cracker Custard Sauce, Basque Chicken and Shrimp in Wine, and Navajo Tacos.  The basic inspirations for these meals came from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seasoned America.

Bouquet Garni

My mother used Spice Islands Bouquet Garni in so many of her dishes that it just became a staple.  This post will describe the mixture, and where and how I use it.

Unfortunately, Bouquet Garni as a spice mixture is no longer made by Spice Islands, so if you want to buy it you will have to look at other brands.  (More on that later.)

My mother had a set of cookbooks called The Gourmet Cookbook, published by Gourmet Books, Inc.  I have the revised edition, first published in 1965 (though my version is from the Ninth Printing, 1981:

This book used Bouquet Garni a lot, and described it thusly:

Bouquet garni is the French term for a bundle  or faggot, of seasoning vegetables and herbs, tied with string for easy removal from the pot.  the bouquet garni usually includes celery, thyme, and bay leaf, and some times includes fennel, leeks, marjoram, tarragon, and other herbs and vegetables as specified or as desired.

Wikipedia tells us this:

The bouquet garni [bukɛ ɡaʁni] (French for "garnished bouquet") is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock, and various stews. The bouquet is cooked with the other ingredients, but is removed prior to consumption.
There is no generic recipe for bouquet garni, but most recipes include thyme and bay leaf. Depending on the recipe, the bouquet garni may also include parsley, basil, burnet, chervil, rosemary, peppercorns, savory and tarragon. Vegetables such as carrot, celery (leaves or leaf stalks), celeriac, leek, onion and parsley root are sometimes included in the bouquet.

Sometimes, the bouquet is not bound with string, and its ingredients are filled into a small sachet, a net, or even a tea strainer, instead. Traditionally, the aromatics are bound within leek leaves, though a coffee filter (or cheesecloth) and butcher twine can be used, instead.

Most defnitions include the idea of tying them together, or putthing the herbs into a satchel.  The Bouquet Garni I use is actually a spice mixture which you just shake or measure into your recipe.

The version is use comes from The Spice House:

Literally meaning a bouquet for garnish, this mixture of basil, marjoram, rosemary, summer savory, thyme, tarragon, Greek oregano, Dalmatian sage and dill weed 

So that's what I use.  The best way to get the most arromatic experience from it is to melt some butter, add diced onions and a bit of fresh chopped garlic, and then sprinkle the onions and garlic with this mixture.  The smell is amazing and the rich taste superb!

P. F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Stir Fry

P. F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Stir Fry

Friday night my lovely wife choose to take me to the Dragon Star Chinese Restaurant here in Heber City Utah.  It's run by a husband and wife team, and the location leaves a lot to be desired, but we've always enjoyed the food.  Anyway, one of the choices we choose was Mongolian Beef.  Their version had a ton of vegetables in it, and was spicy.

Fast forward to last night, being Sunday night, September 15th, 2013, and I had a taste for Stir Fry.  So I searched around and got a few recipes from here and there, including some cookbooks. The mix mash of recipes I used and found are enough for this to be unique, but it does resemble the P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef more than it does the Dragon Star Mongolian Beef. In other words, it's more sweet than spicy.  Here is what I did, and it turned out great. Unfortunately, in today's day and age, I forgot to take pictures of the food and prep, so it will all have to be in your imagination.

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. I used Crisco Brand.
1 Tablespoon of Ginger (I had a tube of Garlic Paste from Gourmet Garden)
1 Tablespoon of Garlic (I had a jar of Minced Garlic from Spice World)
1/2 Cup of Soy Sauce (Kikkoman)
1/2 Cup of Swanson's Beef Broth (use water if you don't have broth)
3/4 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup of Vegetable Oil
1 lb of flank steak
1 carrot
1 onion
1 bell pepper
3-4 stalks of celery
1 handful of peanuts
Dash of Seasame Seeds
1 bunch of green onions
1 Zuchini
1/4 cup of corn starch

Start by putting 2 Tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a pot and heating it over high heat.

When the oil is hot add a tablespoon of minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of minced ginger.

Stir the garlic and ginger around for a second, till it get really arromatic in your kitchen.  Smells amazing.  30 seconds or so.  Then add the soy sauce and beef broth (or water).  Then stir it all up.  Then add your 3/4 of a cup of Brown Sugar and dissolve it.  

NOTE: My wife thought it was too sweet, but my boys liked it the way it was.  If you think it might be too sweet, cut the brown sugar down here.

Cook for about 2-4 minutes, until the sauce thickens.  Take it off the heat and set it aside.

Now cut up or flank steak.  We did chunks, which I wouldn't recommend up on reflection.  I would do thin little wafers.  Then dip the steak in corn starch so it's dusted with the stuff and let is sit in the cornstarch for 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.  Then you can deep fry it in the Vegetable Oil (New Pan).  I also think you could just fry it instead.  I think I ended up over cooking it. I would do this lightly if I were you.  Just flash fry it in some oil when I do it again.

Combine the beef with the sauce in a pot and heat.

In another pan with a little oil, stir fry the vegetables.  I started with the carrots to get them cooking a bit before adding everything else.  It was a nice mess of vegetables when I was done.

Add the vegetables to the pot of meat and sauce, stir, and it's ready to serve.  Don't forget the Sesame seeds and peanuts.  

Serve over noodles or rice.  We used Wel Pak Chow Mein Stir-Fry Noodles Chuka Soba:

Delicious!  

Rick's Swiss Steak

Rick's Swiss Steak

My brother Rick has this recipe for Swiss Steak that is ridiculously good.  In fact... so good, that I tend to eat it until I'm sick every time.  Literally. It's not really funny, but I honest eat too much and get kind of sick.  Here we go:

INGREDIENTS
1-2 lbs of 7 blade chuck steak - Cheapest cut of meat you can get basically.
1 Large Onion
1 Tablespoon of Minced Garlic (fresh or the stuff from a jar)
Flour
Ground Pepper
Season All Season Salt
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
Kitchen Bouquet Gravy Mix (1 Cap full)
Bouquet Garni
1 8 oz can of tomatoes
1 can of Mushrooms or a package of Mushrooms
2 Cans of Beef Broth
1 Cup of Burgundy Wine
1/2 pound of Butter

Mix some flour (1/2 cup to a full cup) with loads of ground pepper and seasoned salt).  Till the color of the flour is almost orange..  Then, on a wooden surface, with a mallet, pound the hell out of the meat, beating in the flour mixture.  Flatten that meat out.

When you are done, brown the meet in 1/2 inch deep melted butter.  Lots of butter.  Remove the meat.

Then add Onions and Garlic and cook for 5-10 minutes. You might have to add more butter here.  Then add the mushrooms, and Bouquet Garni.  Cook till onions are clear.

Then add the meat back into the mixture along with the 2 cans of beef broth, the can of tomatoes, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, tobacco, Kitchen Bouquet Gravy Mix, Red wine, and simmer for 1 hour or more.  Season to taste if it's not already perfect, and add as splash of Burgundy just prior to serving.

Microwave Baked Potatoes

Microwave Baked Potatoes

I'm guessing there are at least 1000 web pages describing how to do this, but I want to write it down for my own posterity.  

I'm in Utah, so these times are for an elevation of about 5,604 ft!

I take four big ass potatoes, scrub them, poke them with a fork, and then Microwave them 12 minutes.  Sometimes I do it 6 minutes at a time and turn them, sometimes I'm lazy and don't.  Doesn't actually seem to matter one way or the other.

While I do that I heat up my oven on Speed Convection setting to 450.  Once the potatoes are done cooking in the microwave, I throw them in the oven for 25 minutes. Most recipes will say 20, but I'm higher altitude and I like em crispy!

Don't give me mushy potaters.  Don't do it!

June 20th, 2013 - Carnitas - Pressure-Cooked Pork (4 Stars)

June 20th, 2013 - Carnitas - Pressure-Cooked Pork**** (4)

Enjoying playing with my new Pressure Cooker from Kuhn Rikon, I can tell you that these carnitas were a big success with my wife and kids last night.  I'll give you the low down on how I made it right here and I want you try it, and I want you to give me you variations as well as your response if you follow this recipe.

Carnitas are generally made by cooking pork slowly... oh so slowly.  Well... we can quicken this process considerably by using a pressure cooker, and we don't lose a single bit of the magic.  So the foundation of this recipe is the pressure cooked pork... 30 minutes... but the ingredients that go with it can obviously vary considerably.  Below I have a recipe that is inspired by the Modernist Cuisine at Home book.

Ingredients
Pork Shoulder cut into small cubes - 3 lbs
Pork Stock - 2 cups (recipe is on the link)
Achiote Paste*  (see note below) - 1 tablespoon
Chipotle chili powder - 1 teaspoon

*Achiote Paste can be store bought, or you can click on the link and find the recipe I used to make it myself.

Add the cubed meat and the stock to pressure cooker and heat till you get 1 red bar.  Cook for 30  minutes, starting the timing when it reaches 1 bar.   When it is done, open the pressure cooker (I put it in the sink and run room temperature water on it to depressurize it quickly) and strain the liquid into a separate pot.  Add 1 tablespoon of the Achiote Paste and the Chiptotle powder, and cook on high for 25 minutes, stirring constantly.

The meat will come out perfectly cooked, tender beyond imagination.

NOTE: At this point, you have a rick stock which you can add any various seasonings too.  This recipe uses the Achiote Paste and some chili powder, but there are hundreds of variations here that you can use.

Cooking the liquid on high for 25 minutes reduces the liquid to a thick syrup.  At that point, add the meat back in and cook on high for 5-6 minutes.  

They you are done!  Season it as you see fit, with things like salt, lime, cilantro, chili powder, etc.  We put the carnitas in warmed tortillas with a bit of salsa and sour cream and cheese.

RESULT:  The meat was so tender, and it tasted so good by itself.  It was really amazing.  The whole thing with cheese in a tortilla was just as good.  This recipe literally has the possibility of becoming a 5 star meal. 

I do plan on trying the pressure cooker version with my Red Chili Rojo recipe which I have (but hasn't been blogged yet).  Basically I would pressure cook the meat the same way (to make it tender) and the sauce would be more liquid with a straight Cumin / New Mexico Chili Paste.  I think that might happen soon and I'll let you know how it turns out.  

As always, your comments are welcome and desires, and so are variations!