What's Cooking (Take Three!)

Tonight: two beautiful NY strip steaks, done in a hot pan and finished in the oven; long-stemmed broccoli; and a batch of fondant potatoes.

We cook steaks similarly. I use a ridged cast-iron skillet to get sear marks and then finish in the oven.

Tonight: two beautiful NY strip steaks, done in a hot pan and finished in the oven; long-stemmed broccoli; and a batch of fondant potatoes.

We cook steaks similarly. I use a ridged cast-iron skillet to get sear marks and then finish in the oven.

If there happens to be a bucket of hot charcoal available, I do prefer that method, but pan+oven will do.

These were approx. 1.5" thick -- I asked for 1.25" and I did not measure but they looked big to me. I gave them 4 minutes on the stovetop at high heat then flipped and did 6 minutes in the oven (somewhere between rare and med-rare, for me) and another 14 minutes or so for His Well-Done Majesty.

[Jenise]

No dinner plans yet, but last night we went to a winemaker dinner and had some very nice food. My favorite course was a shallow tart filled with beet puree to accompany a Macon-style Washington chardonnay. I admit to thinking that the tart needed more salt to temper the natural sweetness of the beets, but darn was that good.

Tonight: more fondant potatoes, a roast chicken, a butternut squash, and a pot of beans. This time the potatoes wore their jackets, which didn't seem to make much difference other than it slowed them down. The chicken was spatchcocked and the squash was cut into eighths; both were seasoned with a mix of cinnamon, ginger, mace, and fines herbes. The pot of beans was a can of tomato chunks, half a head of fennel, half a pound of bacon ends, a pound of habichuelas rosada, and a handful of seasonings (a couple cloves of garlic, savory, bay leaf, thyme).

[Jenise]

Last night I did my fridge/freezer a favor and diced up about a pound of boneless lamb scraps left over from I can't remember what, and simmered the meat with celery, the last carrot, the last tomato, the end piece of a large onion, the last potato I bought at a farm stand this summer--all diced, plus a small handful of barley, the end of a liter container of chicken broth, and some cloves to make a true Soup Debris. Hot mugs of that followed an apple and cheese plate to make a light dinner while watching football.

A bit on the same wavelength as Jenise tonight. Turned a lone hamburger patty into meatballs and cooked them up with the other half of an onion, tomatoes.. Alongside that a potato bake constructed with sliced leftover boiled potatoes (dug from my garden a couple of days ago), layered with blue cheese and cream. Sautéed the last of a bunch of bokchoy because…
Satisfying on several levels.

[Jenise]

Yesterday we observed Meatless Monday with portobello mushrooms stuffed with bread crumbs, diced red pepper, red onion and fontina cheese, garlic toast, and lightly marinated persian cucumber spears. Brunch had been hashed browns with fried eggs.

Today: STEAK! I bought a prime rib at Costco yesterday and divided it into a steak for tonight and a roast for sometime in the next two weeks. No particular plans for how I'll prepare it.

[Jenise]

That steak: I opened some cookbooks, determined to borrow an idea that would be different from my usual approach(es) to steak. One, from Barbara Lynch's No. 9 Park (Boston) book, involved a compound butter made from fresh wild mushrooms. I had criminis--close enough--and plus herbs, though it would be almost the usual it would be something I'd not done before so it qualified. After resting the steak I put knobs of the butter mixture over the top and put the dish under the broiler for a minute to get the melting on its way. Pretty delish.

Didn't eat at home Wednesday night but last night I made pork ribs with black bean sauce. I made it shareable--one bowl of that plus a bowl of cucumber slices, and when the meat was gone we swabbed up the plentiful sauce with pieces of bread torn off a baguette. And just maybe, that was the best part of all. Not cooking at home today.

My cooking for one is done on Saturdays. So, since Thanksgiving is Thursday, I doing my version, and besides, I love cooking on Saturday. I found a Rocky, organic chicken at Safeway a few weeks ago. It is thawed, will be spatchcocked, and a mix of baking powder, spices will be rubbed all over. It will be placed on a bed of red onion slices, thick Lisbon Lemon slices, and a la Ina Garten, I will place sourdough baguette slices all around it which I brushed with a light coating of garlic olive oil and dusted with garlic powder.
Fresh green beans from Farmer's Market...a slice of bacon to be rendered in a pan, then an onion sauté, with garlic, a can of diced, fire roasted tomatoes tossed in, with Beau Monde an Poultry Seasoning. Cut up green beans will cook in the sauce until just tender.
A recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid and my family loved it and I serve it every Thanksgiving. Oh, and the bacon slice will be chunked up into the beans. I can't decide between a cauliflower mash or a potato salad which I love, no mayo, but instead with horseradish and fresh lemon juice, low fat sour cream, Dijon, onion, parsley, pepper, salt.
I plan to use the bigger part of the chicken for soup, slice for sandwiches, and a few breast pieces to top my Havanese girl's kibble. She will love that!

[Jenise]

Karen, won't you have any of your kids around on Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving's up in the air for us due to the health of our 23 year old cat.

In the meantime, tonight we're going to a wine tasting. Theme is new world Bordeaux blends for which I'm making a platter of what you might call a Bordeaux Lover's version of Vietnamese fresh spring rolls. Each roll will contain lettuce (for which I paid a fortune yesterday), mint, basil, sliced rare roast beef and Point Reyes roquefort-like blue cheese, and all will be drizzled at the last minute with a red wine vinaigrette.

Jenise, one son and daughter in law have been up and down 1-5 the past 10 days or so. I took a fall in my yard got a duzzy of a sprained ankle. Bad fall, took me over 45 minutes to get back into my house. The result was every muscle in my body got overworked, sore. I had badly scraped knees, elbows, literally a mess. I am off the walker and only using a cane at night. They wanted to come to Redding to pick me up and go to Sac for the holiday. I declined. Daughter in Ohio, cannot come out, she works with challenged kids, an has a second job on the side. Plus, kids at home still. She, without fail, calls three times a week and we have long conversations. I also have four great neighbors, we all watch out for each other, and help out when needed. I have had lots of assistance. Long time neighbors, our kids know, as well.
Anyway, my roasted chicken came out less than desirable using the baking powder. The skin did not brown well, some not at all. There was not much juice to this bird, tasted good, onions, leeks, and lemons underneath were yummy. Due to lack of juices, the bread did soak up as much liquid as normal. Certainly not inedible, but not excellent as it should have been. I settled on the potato salad and it is very good and different.

Tonight I'll be making poor man's jambalaya.

-Paul W.

I took a fall in my yard got a duzzy of a sprained ankle. Bad fall, took me over 45 minutes to get back into my house. The result was every muscle in my body got overworked, sore. I had badly scraped knees, elbows, literally a mess.

Ouch! That is a bad fall. I'm glad you're recovering well (and, apparently, indomitable in spirit!).

Daughter in Ohio... without fail, calls three times a week and we have long conversations. I also have four great neighbors, we all watch out for each other, and help out when needed.

Good.

Anyway, my roasted chicken came out less than desirable using the baking powder. The skin did not brown well, some not at all.

Maybe there's a reason nobody knows this trick?

Actually, last night the chicken seemed a lot more tender. Very tasty. Maybe I should have used baking soda to crisp the chicken skin? I know the powder and soda are used for different things, but have not paid enough attention.

Actually, last night the chicken seemed a lot more tender. Very tasty. Maybe I should have used baking soda to crisp the chicken skin? I know the powder and soda are used for different things, but have not paid enough attention.

Not baking soda! Use baking powder.

What I read is that baking soda is very unpleasant to eat, giving a metallic flavor. Baking powder is less icky so mixing a little into a dry rub (about 1/3 as much as the salt) is OK. It works to jump-start the browning/crisping process by messing around with the pH of the surface of the chicken skin.

Ah, good explanation. I think I may have used too much baking powder. Needless to say, my roasted chickens always brown up nicely, but I am always up for something new! I usually have the best browning when I use smoked paprika in my seasoning mix. Best to leave a good thing alone. Thanks

[Jenise]

Karen, you poor thing. Guard that ankle--you probably know some sprains are worse than breaks. I've had a few of those! Take care.

When I roast a chicken, I salt it inside and out and leave it on a rack in the outside fridge for 24 hours before roasting at 450 for about 50 minutes. Best flavor, juiciest meat. It's the reason the Zuni Cafe sells something like 900 chickens a day.

Actually, last night the chicken seemed a lot more tender. Very tasty. Maybe I should have used baking soda to crisp the chicken skin? I know the powder and soda are used for different things, but have not paid enough attention.

Not baking soda! Use baking powder.

What I read is that baking soda is very unpleasant to eat, giving a metallic flavor. Baking powder is less icky so mixing a little into a dry rub (about 1/3 as much as the salt) is OK. It works to jump-start the browning/crisping process by messing around with the pH of the surface of the chicken skin.

Baking powder is baking soda with a dry acid (cream of tartar) added. Baking powder sometimes has an aluminum salt* added (I avoid those brands like Calumet and Clabber Girl and use Rumford), which I guess might give it a metallic taste. I find baking soda salty, not metallic, but if you use way too much in a recipe it might taste soapy because it's alkaline.

America's Test Kitchen always uses baking soda to enhance browning of meat by raising its pH. The tartaric acid in baking powder would partially neutralize the rise in pH. You don't need much. Think lightly dusted small amounts like 1/4 tsp per pound. Personally, I always use baking soda.

Here's a simple recipe for single-acting baking powder if you don't have any in your pantry: To make baking powder, mix one part baking soda and two parts cream of tartar. So, if your recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder, use 1 teaspoon of baking soda, mixed in with 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar. (Some recipes will also call for 1 tsp of cornstarch, which is used in the commercial stuff to help keep it dry and prevent it from reacting and going bad.)

Food chemist Shirley O. Corriher in her book, Cookwise, states in regard to the browning (Maillard) reaction: "Three conditions are necessary for this lower temperature browning: proteins, reducing sugars, and a nonacid environment. Acids prevent browning. Little if any browning occurs at a pH below 6. But with low acidity (ideally a pH between 7.8 and 9.2), the more of certain sugars and proteins in a product, the browner it gets.

FWIW, people like Jenise who live in humid areas should always check the viability of their baking powder before baking by adding a little water to a sample. It should immediately fizz, else it's gone bad.

Here's a link to history of baking powder: https://whatscookingamerica.net/baking-powder.htm

*Some think there is an association between aluminum usage and Alzheimer's amyloid plaques with aluminum. The jury's out on that, though.

America's Test Kitchen always uses baking soda to enhance browning of meat by raising its pH.

Not now: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/art ... icken-skin

Golly gee! Must have been the one time I didn't watch. I stand corrected.

[Jenise]

Dinner last night was a starter of Jerusalem artichokes roasted with garlic and rosemary, followed by a main course salad of avocado half stuffed with a tomato salad.

OH, and a week or three ago when discussing Jerusalem artichokes in another thread I, amused, mentioned that I'd read them called 'fartichokes' because of a certain effect they have on some people. And I said I'd never been affected.

This, ahem, is no longer true.

Interesting info on baking powder and soda. I do recall reading all of this once, but it must have been awhile back because I had forgotten. Was interested in the comment about acidity inhibiting browning. I use lots of fresh lemon and lime in my cooking for marinades, especially. Will have to watch that.

Baking soda and baking powder aren't interchangeable. My brother was living with me one summer when he was on a college internship. He had to get up earlier than I did. One morning I saw that he'd made corn muffins and left several of them for me. They tasted terrible. Something was very wrong with the flavor, but they couldn't have spoiled that rapidly. I later found out that he'd used baking soda instead of the baking powder called for by the recipe.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Dinner tonight: a Chinese noodle stir fry using leftover duck confit from a restaurant meal, bok choy, and green onions.