Beef Stew

This is my favorite version. I prefer baking the bacon and using some of the reserved fat to sauté the onion.  I am leaning towards browning the meat in a skillet and then transferring to the Dutch oven.


Beef Stew

  •  4  slices bacon
  •  2  cups onion -- chopped
  •  2 1/2  pounds stew meat -- or cut up your own into 1 inch chunks
  •  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  •  1/2 teaspoon black pepper -- freshly ground
  •  3  cups beef stock -- Better than Bouillon works well
  •  12  ounces beer -- malty; Nut brown ale is nice
  •  2 tablespoons tomato paste
  •  2  teaspoons mustard -- brown or yellow
  •  2  teaspoons fresh savory -- or teaspoon dried savory or marjoram; more for dried
  •  1  pinch cayenne
  •  1 1/2  cups pearl onion -- blanched and peeled (frozen works too)
  •  6  medium carrot -- cut into chunks
  •  4  small red potatoes -- peeled and cut into chunks
  •  3  Medium parsnip -- cut into chunks


  1. Fry bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp
  2. Remove bacon w/ slotted spoon, drain and reserve it.
  3. Stir the onion into the bacon fat and sauté until soft and transluscent, about 5 minutes.
  4. Toss the meat cubes with the flour , salt, and pepper. Add about half the cubes to the Dutch oven and brown. Add remaining cubes and brown.
  5. Pour in the stock and beer, tomato paste, mustard, savory, and a pinch or two of cayenne.
  6. Simmer for 1 hour, then add the pearl onions, carrots, potatoes, and parsnips.
  7. Simmer uncovered for 1 to 1 1/2 additional hours, until the meat and vegetables are very tender and the liquid is thick.
  8. Add Bacon back onto pot about 20 minutes before serving

Red Sauce Salsa

Yet another recipe from The Homesick Texan Cookbook. Super easy and super tasty. This recipe uses canned crushed tomatoes which are fine everyday salsa. Great in breakfast tacos, with chips, over eggs, or whatever. I buzz up some of this about every two weeks. It lasts around a week, but it does become more "garlic-y" over time. I've cut the original recipe from two cloves to one. I imagine one could use garlic powder in a pinch. The only fresh ingredients you need are an onion, lemon, garlic and cilantro. Keep the other ingredients on hand and you can make a batch anytime.

Ingredients
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
  • 1 clove of garlic peeled and halved
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon cumin
  • 1/2 cup cilantro (some stems are okay, but mostly leaves)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 or more pickled jalapeños (you can add a little of the pickling liquid if you want)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
  • 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (Hunt's are good)
  • Salt to taste
Directions
Add the ingredients in the order listed above to a blender. Blend until pretty smooth but not liquifed. Sample and salt to taste stirring in the salt. Transfer to containers and refrigerate. Stays good for a little over a week. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 cups. 



Tonic Syrup


Homemade tonic syrup is pretty easy once you have the ingredients and equipment. The syrup is used w/ gin, club soda, and limes to make a truly great gin and tonic. Once again, Kevin Liu provided the recipe for this from which I have deviated little. He credits Jeffrey Morgenthaler, so we stand on shoulders of giants with this recipe.

This yields about  cups of syrup; enough for 16 cocktails.

Ingredients

  • 40 g cut Cinchona Bark (Peruvian bark; this linked purchase contains 435 g)
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 220 g granulated sugar
  • 6.8 g Citric Acid (about 0.5 tsp). 

Directions

  1. Boil the  water on the stove in a pot. Once boiling, add the Cinchona bark and off the heat. Cover and let steep for 20 minutes. 
  2. Strain the bark liquid mixture through mesh strainer.  You can re-strain it through a coffee filter or a jury-rigged AeroPress. I've always used the AeroPress setup so cannot comment on the regular coffee filter. Might come out a bit cloudier, but will still taste great I'm sure. 
  3. After filtering, add the sugar and citric acid and place everything into a sealed container (like Tupperware).  Shake until everything is dissolved. Pour into a stoppered bottle or one with a screw cap. 
To make a gin and tonic...
To a highball glass, add 2 oz gin, 1 oz syrup, and 3 ounces of carbonated water. I sometimes drop the tonic syrup to 3/4 oz.  Add ice, stir. Garnish with lime wedge or two. 

In this particular bottling I added some dried lavender during the steeping process. It added a bit of lavender flavor. It also made the color much more red than the usual orange I get. 




Carbonating at Home

I like making my own tonic syrup for gin and tonics, but found keeping fresh carbonated water on hand a pain. I already had a CO2 tank with a regulator for a keg I keep in the basement fridge. I read about a special "cap" you can purchase and a quick-connect hose for the CO2 source.

I hooked everything up and used some speny plastic soda bottles I'd been saving. Filled the bottles with water up to about 6 inches from the top. Chilled them and put them in freezer for a while to get the water as cold as possible. Water temp and CO2 solubility are inversely proportional if I recall correctly.

Followed directions adding CO2 at about 40 psi and shaking like crazy. Product delivered. Removed special cap and put original cap on the bottle and left in fridge.


I'm planning to make my own ginger beer and carbonate it using this setup (Morgenthaler has a recipe for ginger beer). Or just make ginger syrup and adding carbonated water. Kevin Liu has a suggestion to add tincture of cayenne to substitute a longer lasting component of ginger that degrades quickly. 
Anyway, this works well and discounting the labor, comes out pretty cheap for carbonated water. 

Thanks to Kevin for improved technique. He posted on Serious Eats and has excellent suggestions. 

Dry Aged Steak (In a Bag)


This turned out great and I will be repeating the process.
  1. Purchased Dry Steak Bags from http://www.drybagsteak.com/. Cost (with shipping was about $30 for three bags and "little strips for sealing in Foodsaver". Shipping was high at this site, but they arrived VERY quickly.  
  2. Purchased 11.3 pound NY strip loin from Costco. Cost was 6.89/lb so total was about $78.
  3. Followed Dry Bag Steak directions to the letter. They have pretty great videos on their site if you can hear the voice over above the "background" music. My corner seals separated the "outer" portion of the bag partially. I did a double seal that did not cut off the corner and am satisfied I have a good seal and vacuum. 
  4. Placed on rack fat cap up (required) in rimmed baking sheet (just in case it leaked). 
  5. I'm waiting three weeks.
Three weeks later...
Everything turned out as expected. The steaks were dense, flavorful, and tender. The final weight after trimming was around 7 pounds. I probably could have trimmed less, but was playing it safe. Final cost was about $12.50/lb for dry aged steak (including the cost of the bag) Next time I will probably go four weeks.


Fabulous Fish Tacos


These make a great alternative for Taco Tuesday. Even if  you have it.... on a Friday!! Seriously, they are simple and tasty with minimal cleanup.

Music
Chantal Chamberland La Mer

Fish Tacos 
Yields four tacos which can serve two people with a side
  • 4 pieces from a box of Trident Beer Batter Cod (try to use longish pieces)
    I used to use the Trident Panko Breaded Cod, but it is no longer available. 
  • Kraft Chipotle mayo
  • Sriracha  sauce (optional)
  • Red cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 4 flour tortillas (or corn for variety)
  • Cilantro, roughly chopped
  • Lime wedges and maybe some radish slices for garnish
  1. Prepare cod pieces according to box directions flipping at the midway point. 
  2. While fish is cooking, slice the cabbage and mix with enough chipotle mayo to thoroughly coat and enough Sriracha sauce to spice it up as you like.
  3. During last one minute or so of baking time place tortillas on second rack in the oven. Remove when you remove the fish or leave in if not thoroughly heated. If you have a gas grill, you can carefully heat them over the flame one at a time.
  4. Assemble tacos: Place one piece of fish on each tortilla. Spoon some dressed cabbage on top of the fish. Sprinkle on on some cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Add a bit more of the mayo if you like.
    Be careful, the fish will be very hot. 
  5. You can dress up with some mango salsa in place of the slaw for variety.
  6. Bon Appétit!




Fish Taco Confidential
My mother, about whom I cannot say enough wonderful things, taught me how to make these. For this and so much more I have a cargo ship loaded with gratitude requiring a deep-water port. 

Black Negroni




Being playful with cocktail recipes yields sometimes fabulous and sometimes disastrous results. Fortunately, Kevin Liu's slight variation on the Negroni falls into the former category. Substituting an amaro for sweet vermouth makes sense if you like your drinks intensely flavorful and complex Add a few dashes of bitters and you've got yourself something special.  I happened to have a bottle of Averna and a bottle of Ramazotti amaros on hand so I made one with each. Both excellent in their own way. The Ramazotti had something like a hint of peppermint.

Recipe is easy.
1 oz gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Averna amaro (or amaro of your choice).
1 dashes Angustora bitters
2 dashes orange bitters (Kevin used Regan's; I liked Angustora's orange bitters a titch more)

Stir on ice and strain into cocktail glass.
Garnish with orange peel after expressing the oil from the peel into the drink.


That is a horrible example of cutting out a letter in the orange peel for garnish. I've done much better, but wanted to share my failure. There's a business idea... Small cookie cutters to punch out a letter from citrus peel for cocktail. In the world of bespoke-ness you can't get much more bespoken. Sell each for a small fortune on Cocktail Kingdom. 

Migas

Possibly the best breakfast dish ever. Spend some time in Austin, TX and you will  have these for breakfast. Go to Trudy's. You will like them. Migas was my usual weekend dish with breakfast tacos filling in the weekdays if I was lucky. I've got several recipes for Migas. This one is quick and easy.
Music for preparing Migas? Hmmm, I'd have to go with Buena Vista Social Club's Chan Chan.

Perry's Migas for Two
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp margarine, or butter, or bacon grease, or combination
  • 1/2 med to smallish onion, diced
  • 2-3 tablespoons drained Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
  • 2-3 handfulls of bagged tortilla chips, crushed in your hand when adding to skillet
  • Some cheese: velveeta, mexican blend grated, or leftover chile con queso
  • Serranos or Jalapeños finely diced
  • Flour tortillas


Directions
  1. Wrap 4 tortillas flat in foil and put into a oven set at about 250 degrees. 
  2. Put two plates into the microwave so you can heat them later. If melting Velveeta, put the cheese and a little milk into a small bowl and put that on the plates. 
  3. Sautè the onions in the margarine. While onions cook, beat eggs with milk. 
  4. Once onions soften, add the drained Rotel tomatoes. Heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and tomatoes are heated through. 
  5. Add the beaten eggs and crumble the tortilla chips onto the eggs. 
  6. Cook as you would scrambled eggs. Lowered heat and moving eggs spatula to get the curd size you like. Turn on the microwave for about a minute watching cheese doesn't overflow if melting cheese. 
  7. Plate the eggs, drizzle with the melted cheese or sprinkle with grated cheese. 
  8. Sprinkle some diced serranos or jalapeños. Don't forget the tortillas in the oven. 
Freshly brewed coffee is a great beverage choice. 


Egg Confidential
I hated eggs my whole life growing up. Would not eat them no matter how they were prepared. When I got to University of Texas, a roommate suggested we go out for migas. I protested. He said there was hardly any egg in them and I should try them. I complied and am forever grateful to Jim Speedy for getting me to try these. I've since expanded my eggy horizons and like them scrambled with a few additions.

Clover Club Cocktail (with DIY Grenadine)


I found the original recipe a bit of  pain after making it in a blender as called for.You can try doing a "dry" shake by adding all the liquids with no ice and shaking (then adding ice and shaking again). The absence of ice in the first shake fails to create a vacuum seal causing some liquid to leak from the shaker.  I prefer using a hand (or immersion) blender for emulsifying egg whites in cocktails. Easy use and the quick clean-up are enough to recommend this method. Here's the recipe. For music I've got a two recommendations for making this drink.

Glenn Miller's In the Mood
Bennie Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing

Recipe for Clover Club Cocktail (makes 2)

  • 3 oz gin
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 1 oz simple syrup
  • 1/2 oz pomegranate syrup (add 2 cups Pom Wonderful to pyrex measuring glass and microwave at low or medium until the volume is reduced to 1 cup; let cool before use)
  • 1 egg white

Add everything to the bottom half of a Boston or Parisian shaker.
Use an immersion blender to emulsify the ingredients. I start off at slower speed and work my way up. A minute or so is usually enough.
Add ice to the shaker, cover and shake to chill thoroughly.
Strain into chilled cocktail glasses.




Notes
This drink is truly wonderful. Light on the tongue but bursting with the citrus and continues with a lingering finish of pomegranate. The astringency of the gin and pomegranate with the soft touch from emulsified egg white produce a blissful mouthfeel.

If you are nervous about using raw egg white, use pasteurized egg white from egg beaters. I may just be lucky, but I have made a fair number of drinks with raw egg white and never suffered for it. Up to you, of course.

Barrel Aged Beefeater (aka BABs)




Continuing with barrel-aging sans barrels, I thought I'd try it with a little Beefeater gin. I added about 2 cups of Beefeater and 20g Jack Daniels Barrel Chips to a mason jar and sealed it. I let it rest for about 6 days shaking it every couple of days. I'm going to leave it in there a bit longer and see if it improves.

Today I made a simple martini using this "barrel-aged" gin. The result was interesting and worth pursuing I think. The chips impart a bit of oak and maybe a hint of bourbon-like something (which I don't particularly like). The latter may be just my imagination. It also gives the gin a pale straw color that is not too disagreeable. Overall it was a nice change of pace from my regular martini. I garnished with a fat caperberry because I had some in the fridge.

BAB Martini
2 oz barrel-aged Beefeater
1/4 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth
Stir over ice until chilled and diluted.
Strain and garnish (maybe with a lemon peel next time

Cheers,
P

Next up, Black Negroni



"Barrel Aged" Negroni




We went to W.A. Frost a few months back and ordered Negroni's. They happened to have some barrel aged Negroni behind the bar, and we accepted the offer. It was quite good and served as my introduction to the "barrel-aged fad" that seems to be getting some traction. Predicted life span: 2.5 yrs. max.

So I figured I'd find a way to do this at home. Helloooo Google. One search and I found my strategy. Some day when I become a cooper or have access to free barrels I will make truly barrel-age drinks. Until then I will do this. Thanks to Chris for doing the work I would never have done and publishing an excellent post titled How to Make Barrel Aged Cocktails at Home (no barrel required)...

This is my first effort so I will follow most of what Chris did. I will be adjusting the proportions a bit since we like a heavier dose of gin in our Negroni's. If it goes well I might have to invest in a small barrel from Oak Barrels Ltd. They look mighty cool.  I will know in six weeks and update this post.


Here is what I set up...

  • 12 oz gin
  • 08 oz Campari
  • 08 oz Sweet vermouth
  • 15 g  Jack Daniels Barrel chips
Directions
Combing all in a mason jar and seal.
Gently roll or shake each day for 6 weeks.
Decant or strain the mixture through cheese cloth into another mason jar.
Refrigerate. Serve over ice with a 1/2 ounce of water to mimic dilution from melted ice. I'll have to play with this.

Negroni Confidential
My wife's first Negroni was served at The Norton restaurant just across the river from Red Wing, MN. The restaurant was run by the Husker Du bassist, Greg Norton. He mixed up  a great Negroni with a dash of orange bitters. I was quite surprised my wife liked  the drink so much. This also served as my eye-opener to the making quality cocktails and the desire to make them at home.
I could go on about how Campari changed their formulation some years back switching to an artificial coloring from carmine red (which is a VERY cool biologic stain). I will not do that. I respect your time too much.


Green Sauce


Mmmmm, delicious, creamy, tart with just the right amount of heat: Great Green Sauce. I just made this for some friends last night. It went over well with The Three Amigos. Great as a dip, put some in a taco, use it as a sandwich spread -- is there anything green sauce can't do? Serve this at Middle East peace talks.. BAM ..hugs all around.

The original version of this comes from The Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain. After following her recipe I doubled the amount of avocado and halved the amount of garlic. It lasts a couple of days covered in the refrigerator.

Music choice while making this sumptuous sauce? Marty Robbins' classic,  El Paso works for me. Cheers, Felina! If you hurry, you can probably make a batch before the song ends...tragically.

Great Green Sauce
  • 1 11-ounce can whole tomatillos
  • 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
  • 2 small or 1 big-honkin' serrano pepper, stemmed and roughly chopped
  • 2 medium cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (roughly a small handful ripped from a bunch)
  1. Throw everything into a blender. Tomatillos on the bottom works well.
  2. Blend until pretty smooth but maybe some small lumps.
  3. Salt to taste

Green Sauce Confidential: Lisa Fain gives mention to Ninfa's in her recipe. I must also give a nod to the place I first had fajitas and a was served green sauce with my chips. My memory is weak, but I do remember loving it at the time. I have not checked to see if they are still doing business, but next time I'm in Houston I will give a look. Until then I will make this regularly. It's the bomb!

My Martini

This is my Martini. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My Martini
  • 2 oz Beefeater gin
  • 1/4-1/3 ounce Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth (see Martini Confidential below)
  • 1 dash orange bitters (optional depending on how I feel)
  • 1 lemon peel
  1. Add gin, vermouth, and bitters if using to a mixing glass containing ice. 
  2. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly chilled. Shake if you are in a hurry. The only downside is it will have air bubbles in it for a while. This makes the drink a bit gray. 
  3. Strain into a  cocktail glass. I prefer smallish glasses holding a scant 3 to 4 ounces. Compared to their 5 and up ounce counterparts, these look downright puny. 
  4. Peel a lemon twist over the glass. Express oil from peel into glass and rub peel round the rim. 
  5. Twist the peel around a bar spoon and hang on the edge of the glass. 
  6. Enjoy in moderation.





Chili con Carne #1


Crowd Pleasin' Chili
While cookin' up a mess o' chili I can't think of anything better to enjoy than some Stevie Ray Vaughn. Any song will do. This recipe is not the chili I learned to love at The Texas Chili Parlor, but it makes a lot and most folks like it.

Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground beef chuck
  • 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
Dry Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon bacon bits
  • 2 tablespoons Ancho chile powder, or use another two tablespoons of regular chili powder here
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano, Mexican oregano if you have it
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt, leave out to reduce sodium
Canned Ingredients
  • 45 ounces chili beans medium, canned, drained (3 cans)
  • 15 ounces chili beans spicy, canned with the sauce
  • 2 x 28 oz diced tomatoes with juice, canned
  • 6 oz tomato paste
Vegetables
  • 1 large Yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 medium Jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
Wet Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup beer
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Hot pepper sauce, e.g. Tabasco
Garnish
  • corn chips, Fritos
  • diced onion and jalapeños
  • shredded cheese or velveeta-queso


Instructions
  1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
  2. Add all the dry ingredients to the cooked meat and stir. 
  3. Add the vegetables, wet, and canned ingredients. Stir to mix ingredients.. Simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  4. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
  5. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips, cheese, some finely diced onion and a sprinkle of freshly minced jalapeños. 


Chicken Breasts with Cherry Pepper Pan Sauce



Recipe for Chicken Breasts with Cherry Pepper Pan Sauce
Ingredients
CHICKEN
  • 2 medium bone-in split chicken breasts
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

PAN SAUCE
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup chopped pickled hot cherry peppers, plus 1/4 cup brine
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

FOR THE CHICKEN: 
  1. Place 1 chicken breast, skin side down, on cutting board, with ribs facing away from knife hand. Run tip of knife between breastbone and meat, working from thick end of breast toward thin end. Angling blade slightly and following rib cage, repeat cutting motion several times to remove ribs and breastbone from breast. Find short remnant of wishbone along top edge of breast and run tip of knife along both sides of bone to separate it from meat. Remove tenderloin (reserve for another use) and trim excess fat, taking care not to cut into skin. Repeat with second breast.
  2. Using tip of paring knife, poke skin on each breast evenly 30 to 40 times. Turn breasts over and poke thickest half of each breast 5 to 6 times. Cover breasts with plastic wrap and pound thick ends gently with meat pounder until 1/2 inch thick. Evenly sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Place breasts, skin side up, on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
  3. Pat breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle each breast with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour oil in 12-inch skillet and swirl to coat. Place breasts, skin side down, in oil and place skillet over medium heat. Place heavy skillet or Dutch oven on top of breasts. Cook breasts until skin is beginning to brown and meat is beginning to turn opaque along edges, 7 to 9 minutes.
  4. Remove weight and continue to cook until skin is well browned and very crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip breasts, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until second side is lightly browned and meat registers 160 to 165 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer breasts to individual plates and let rest while preparing pan sauce.


FOR THE PAN SAUCE:
  1. Pour off all but 2 teaspoons oil from skillet. Return skillet to medium heat and add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. 
  2. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high, add broth and brine, and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. 
  3. Stir in any accumulated chicken juices; return to simmer and cook for 30 seconds. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in peppers, butter, and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce around breasts and serve.




Original recipe from Cooks Illustrated

The Martinez Cocktail



Assemble your ingredients and equipment, then put on Cal Tjader's Soul Sauce. Be careful not to spill anything while shaking your tail feather.

The Martinez Cocktail
  • 2 oz gin
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth
  • 1/4 oz maraschino liquer
  • 2-3 dashes aromatic bitters
  • lemon peel garnish

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir, stir, stir. (Nod to Mr. Eric Felton; stir some more)
Strain into a cocktail glass. Peel the lemon over the glass with a channel knife or vegetable peeler.
Express oil from the peel into the glass and drop it in.

Amaze your friends: If you want a spiral, wind the peel around the mixing spoon or your finger. 

Green Chile Stew


Notes on preparation
  • The amount of sodium in your chili powder varies. Taste a bit before adding any salt. I like Penzey's Medium Hot Chili Powder which has no added salt. 
  • Use Mexican oregano if you have it on hand, regular is fine. 
  • I've tried including the liquid from the green chiles and did not like the outcome personally. 
  • Pork:You can purchase pork chops (already sliced) or you can purchase a huge pork loin package from Costco and slice them yourself. There is some savings in the latter. Cut it 1/2 inch slices and store in 2 lb (or close enough) portions and freeze. The original recipe called for pork shoulder or butt. It is definitely more flavorful. It also takes longer to cut and trim and contains more animal fat. 
  • When I can get them I use Goya White Hominy and Westbrae Great Northern Beans (not pictured above). The beans break down well to become the "gravy" for the stew.

Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 pounds pork chops, 2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, trimmed and cut in to 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 30 ounces hominy, canned, drained (Goya)
  • 32 ounces great northern beans, canned, drained (Westbrae)
  • 10 ounces tomatoes with green chilies, canned with juices (Rotel)
  • 12 ounces green chiles, canned, drained or frozen thawed and drained (Bueno are great if you live in the southwest)
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 10 oz lager or pilsner beer
  • Salt, to taste
  • chopped cilantro and radish slices, to garnish

Directions
  1. In a large Dutch oven or deep skillet with lid, brown pork cubes in a little oil. Remove liquid at end of browning to get a little crust on pork if you like.. Add onion and a little more oil to the pot. Cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add remaining ingredients except salt and garnishes. Cover and simmer low for one hour. Add 8 oz beer or more as needed. . 
  2. Taste and adjust seasonings for salt. Serve hot garnished with cilantro and sliced or julienned radishes. This stew reheats well; cover and refrigerate for up to three days; freeze for longer storage.

Rachael Ray has a terrific Posole recipe I've made a couple of times. I like it. I drain the cans of hominy when making it. 

On Bacon

For storing uncooked bacon, I like to roll up the slices individually and then freeze them in a Ziploc bag. Whenever I need a few slices of bacon for a dish, I just pull the number I need, chop them if necessary, and cook them.




Ingredients

  • 1 pound bacon, thick sliced

Instructions

  1. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange the bacon strips so they are all flat. They can be touching. You could add some black pepper or brown sugar on the strips for flavored bacon.
  2. Set the baking sheet with bacon on the lower-miiddle rack in a cold oven. Set the oven to bake at 400 F. Set the timer to 9 minutes.
  3. After nine minutes, rotate the sheet in the oven and set the timer for another 9 minutes. When the timer goes off, check the bacon. You will want it pretty dark brown. Remove when it is done to your liking. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined baking sheet or plate.
  4. Once the bacon has drained and cooled, place it in a ziplock bag and refrigerate or freeze. You can cut the strips in 1/2 and they will fit into a 1 quart bag. Microwave if you are having it "straight". 
  5. After the bacon grease has cooled, drain it into a glass or metal container. You can filter but the small solid bits usually settle on the bottom. Refrigerate this for when you need it for recipes like corn bread or beef stew.


Bacon Confidential: I was working in a restaurant kitchen ages ago. I had drained off the hot bacon fat from the pan into a metal ramekin and set it aside. My next task was to pull the grease traps above the grill for cleaning. I was standing on a counter and hit the ramekin of bacon grease with my foot. The very hot (that's key here) bacon grease tumbled onto my friend Pat Brown's leg. It must have been excruciating. I just kept apologizing as we worked to minimize the damage to his calf. If you are out there Pat, I'm truly sorry.

The Perfect Manhattan


Friday cocktail hour is one of my favorite hours of the week. Always something new to try or modify for a bit of experimentation. There is a wonderful book by Bernard DeVoto titled The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto that covers the topic in highly opinionated detail.

I love a good Manhattan cocktail. I recently expanded my horizons by making some Perfect Manhattans. The only difference is the substitution of 1/2 the sweet vermouth with dry vermouth. The choice of whiskey, vermouth and bitters have tremendous impact on the taste of the final product.

Perfect Manhattan
2 oz whiskey (bourbon or rye)
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz dry vermouth
3 or 4 dashes (soon to be converted to drops) bitters
lemon peel or maraschino cherry

  • Add whiskey, vermouth and bitters to a mixing glass with ice. 
  • Stir and stir and stir. You want some dilution from the melting ice.
  • Strain into a cocktail glass. Add maraschino cherry or homemade brandy/maraschino liquor cherry.OR use lemon peel expressed over the glass.

Split Pea Soup With Ham



I found the start of this recipe on AllRecipes.com submitted by Chef John who has a great site called FoodWishes.com. I made it a few times following the recipe exactly. I then saw a recipe on CooksIllustrated.com and saw they had a variation with the addition of caraway seed (which I'm crazy for). The result is the recipe linked below. I'm toying with the idea of substituting ham hock for the ham steak, but the ease of dicing the ham gives me pause. 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped medium
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped medium
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped medium
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 pound ham steak, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 2 whole bay leaves, broken in 1/2
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
  • 1 pound dried split peas, picked over
  • 1 quart chicken stock, low sodium
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Place the butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Stir in onion, celery, and carrot with some salt. SLOWLY cook the vegetables so as not to brown. Add sliced garlic after 2 minutes. Cook slowly until the onions are translucent but not brown, About 5 to 8 minutes.
  2. While vegetables are cooking, toast caraway seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and browned, about 4 minutes.
  3. Mix in ham, bay leaf, caraway, and split peas. Pour in chicken stock and water. Stir to combine, and simmer slowly until the peas are tender and the soup is thick, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add more liquid if soup becomes too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste (probably will not need any salt). Remove the 4 bay leaf pieces. 
  4. Add a few grinds of black pepper about 5 min before you serve.
  5. Serve with oyster crackers or caraway rye bread toasted.

Black-eyed Peas with Collard Greans



Ingredients

  • 6 slices bacon, Farmland thick cut if you've got it
  • 1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper 
  • 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, canned, with juice
  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 pound collard greens, stemmed, rolled, cut once lenthwise the into 3/4 inch ribbons
  • 31 ounces blackeyed peas, canned, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions
NOTE: If you cook a whole package of bacon in the oven, you can reserve the bacon grease and use 2 tbsp in this recipe with 6 of the cooked slices. Put remaining slices in ziplock bag in freezer and refrigerate the leftover bacon fat for cornbread.

  1. Cook the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined palte and set aside.
  2. Remove all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from pot. Add onion and salt and cook stiring frequently until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
  3. Add garlic, cumin, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds.
  4. Add tomatoes and their juice. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add greens, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until green are just tender, about 15 minutes
  5. Add black-eyed peas to pot and cook covered stirring gently occasionally until greens are silky and tender, about 15 more minutes. Remove lid, increase heat to medium high, and cook until liquid is reduced by one-fourth, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and sugar. Serve topping with reserved bacon.

Bloody Mary

Why are Bloody Mary's so popular at airports and on planes? I've made my share and am always on the lookout for a good recipe. My fabulous wife recently gave me a cookbook by John Currence for Christmas. Tt had a great looking Bloody Mary recipe which is now my go to recipe when making a batch.

I have made two half-batches so far. I recommend serving same day you make it. You can pre-load it with vodka, but I like letting everyone add their own. Here's my take on his recipe.

Ingredients
  • 4 cups V-8® vegetable juice, low sodium if you prefer
  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 5 teaspoons horseradish, prepared
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons shallot, grated or minced (i'm tempted to try onion powder or dehydrated onion)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, pressed
  • 2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
  • 1-2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce (up to you)
  • 3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper, ground
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, Omit if watching your sodium intake
  • 2 medium lemons, zested and juiced

Directions
  1. Combine the V8, and all the other ingredients in a one of those Rubbermaid pitchers. Refrigerate until well chilled; around 2 hrs. Pre-chill your V8 the night before if you are in a hurry.
  2. Add some to a glass filled with ice. Add  your choice of vodka or gin. 
  3. Garnish: pickled okra, picked onions, olives, lime wedges. Up north some folks add beef sticks, bacon, and/or pickles. Pretty much anything pickled is fair game. 
His book may be purchased on Amazon. It is absolutely beautiful. Great pictures, quality print and paper. It is titled Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey: Recipes from my Three Favorite Food Groups and Then Some.

Chorizo and Chickpea Soup


Had this with a good IPA. A Chianti could also work.

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces chorizo, spanish, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, 1/2 slices, and rinsed
  • 2-3 medium cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes, canned, 1 small can
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or 2 cups broth and 2 cups water)
  • 30 ounces chickpeas, canned (2x15 ounce cans) rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon paprika (hot, smoked, or sweet...your choice)
  • 4 cups spinach (cut off the stems while still bunched; drop in sink of water and trim any stems you missed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
  1. Cook chorizo in a large pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the fat melts out, about 5 minutes. Set aside to drain on paper towels; discard fat.
  2. Add oil to the pot and place over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until just soft, 4 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes (or puree) and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add broth, chickpeas and sweet and smoked paprika; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook for 20 minutes.
  3. Add spinach, pepper and the reserved chorizo; cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Welcome to Vivacious Viands

First post of the year and ever in this new blog. I am hoping to catalog all things food and drink of note created and/or consumed. I am keeping a parallel recipe site on MasterCook.com. I will try to link to recipes when possible. I currently have no financial affiliation with any food or drink entities. My opinions are my own.