I am also banned from cooking it at home. I only get it at greasy small town restaurants. Let it stink up their kitchen. But chicken livers on the gripping hand...

Today I'll be pressure cooking a pork picnic (or shoulder, forget which) for soup tomorrow.  At $1.49 a lb, I've been rendering these down frequently so the freezer is pretty packed with pulled pork barbecue.

Tonight however in celebration of a beautiful day I will fire up the grill for the first time this season and burn several pounds of chicken thighs.

GooberMcNutly wrote:

on the gripping hand...

I'm so glad to see someone else using that reference.  N/P's best work.

I'm going to share with you, my grandmother's spaghetti sauce (modified by me).  You all are special, as I have never even typed this up before much less given it out.  So these are approximations.

1 smoked ham hock, scored
1 cup olive oil
1-2 onions
minced garlic (I use about 6-8 cloves or more and don't let me catch you using that shit in a can)
red wine for flavor and deglazing (if you wouldn't drink it straight, don't cook with it)
mushrooms (if you like them, if not omit)
black pitted calamata olives (I get rosemary and garlic marinated ones, but use whatever you like)
parm/romano cheese - fresh grated
canned diced tomatoes (4-5 of the large 24oz cans)
canned pureed tomatoes (1-2 of the large 24oz cans)
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (or omit, I don't always use it)
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder (I like garlic)
S&P to taste
1/2-1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (or to taste, I like my sauce spicy)

This will make a huge pot, I always make in a 8-12 qt stock pot. 

Heat up olive oil, throw in scored ham hock and cook for a few minutes until you can smell the ham hock.  Add onions, cook until translucent.  Add the garlic, cook another minute or two.  Deglaze pan with about 1/2 cup-1 cup of red wine.

Add in the cans of diced and pureed tomatoes.  Stir well.   Add in more red wine, drink some, add some, you decide.  Add in a bit more olive oil.   Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Add in olives, spices, mushrooms, cheese,and tomato paste.

Let cook for at least an hour, preferrably 2-3 hours.   You can also add ground beef or veal, or meatballs at any time near the end.   Remove the ham hock when you're done making the sauce.

If you really want to be authentic like grandmom, use pig's feet for the base instead of the ham hock.  I could never get myself to do this though.

--------------------

MAKE HOME MADE FRESH PASTA.  It's not hard, get a $50 buck pasta press, combine one egg with 1 cup of semolina, add a bit of olive oil or water as needed, then press and cut.  It makes ALL the difference.  And please, salt your pasta water.

This has been your half Italian sauce cooking recipe/lesson. 

RT

Last edited by Roger_That (2014-04-10 16:22:49)

XregnaR wrote:

Soul Food - it's killing you.

Try adding unhulled barley. I glass jug a couple pots of spiced lentils and black beans a month and toss in past prime produce along the way. Makes it marginally different every day.

Auto-edited on 2020-08-02 to update URLs

Thanks, RT!  I will give it a try.

whosasailorthen wrote:

That sounds a lot like my mum's spaghetti gravy, RT. The only difference is that she used to save all the meat leftovers and it *all* went into the sauce.  It was different every time, of course, but still delish.

I've done that before, but I really don't like pork meat that much.  The flavoring is great, but I'll take meatballs or ground veal in mine.

square wrote:

Roger_That wrote:

1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (or omit, I don't always use it)

One interesting method I recently heard of for adding sweetness was to use grated carrot.

Definitely interesting.  I usually omit the sugar though, as I don't like sweet sauce.  Even though that's such a small amount, you're not likely to taste it much.  Some people dump as much as a cup in, that seems over kill to me.

This weekend I took some of the homemade venison chorizo and turned it into a couple of quiches, one with a really nice batch of morell mushrooms my bro sent me from PA and the other with a mix of chives, vidalia and elephant garlic, all un-sauteed, for crunch.

And I made a 5 gallon batch of a Fat Tire clone.

I tried to reduce some old caramel syrup to harden it into chews, but something happened and it separated and turned into "pus and tar" as my wifey dubbed it.

lechero wrote:

Swiss macaroni and venison chorizo are making me salivate for second breakfast.

Here's a recipe that may come in handy for the dark days ahead...

Squirrel Mulligan

6 large squirrels, all cut up
1 pound butter or margarine
3 teaspoons salt
6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 medium onions, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 quart peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 (17 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 teaspoon red pepper
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup bread crumbs

Cook squirrels slowly in large pot with just enough water to cover the squirrels. Add butter and salt and cook until tender. Cool.

Remove meat from bones and return to stock. Add potatoes, onions and celery. Cook slowly until vegetables are tender.

Add tomatoes, corn, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat until bubbly. Thicken with bread crumbs.

Serve with green salad and garlic bread.

Serves 8

I'm thinking that if I'm down to cooking with canned cream style corn then the type of meat will be the least of my worries...

lechero wrote:

Squirrel Mulligan

6 large squirrels, all cut up
1 pound butter or margarine

I love squirrels, but that's a shit ton of butter! More calories from the butter than from the meat.

So, anyone know a butter substitute for fat soluble herbage? I turn pizza savage every full moon or so but have otherwise weaned myself from cow teaty.

Mix everything here to taste, I personally like going a little heavy on the garlic.....

Fettuccine With Shrimp and Broccoli

While boiling fresh fettuccine noodles, liberally pour olive oil into a frying pan, throw a couple of garlic cloves thinly sliced into the boiling olive oil along with fresh deveined shrimp and chopped broccoli florets.  Cook shrimp, garlic and broccoli until shrimp are pink and broccoli is properly cooked.  Add salt and oregano to taste, drain the fettuccine noodles and put back into pan.  Pour olive oil, shrimp and broccoli mixture over fettuccine noodles stirring to make certain that noodles are properly coated in the olive oil mixture.  Serve and eat!  This pairs quite well with a chardonnay or gewürztraminer wine and bread dipped in olive oil.  I cannot stress going heavy on the garlic and olive oil enough.

Scotty wrote:

Banjo wrote:

I boiled 40 lbs of crawfish last week and as usual included Andouille sausage, mushroom, garlic, and potatoes (and many other things) in my pot. I had about a pound of tails, a few sausage, garlic and mushrooms and a ton of red potatoes left over that evening. I made a bisque out of all the remaining ingredients that was mighty fuckin' fine. I also had enough of the spicy potatoes left to make a kick-ass potato salad. I even soaked my peeled eggs in some boil for a few hours to give it even more kick. Aiyeeeee!

I fucking hate you.

We'll, if you weren't such a fuckng stranger these days, I could have invited you.  I just got a new pot for my birthday, so I've got at least one more boil in me this season. The crawfish prices are insanely high this year or I would be cooking every week. It's tough paying $5.95/ lb for something you used to go to the local highway ditches and get for free. By the time all other expenses are thrown in, a small 40 lb boil (not even enough to feed your neighbors) is well over $300.00 right now.  My Fargo spawned bitch Yankee wife fails to see the logic behind such an awesome investment so I got that shit to deal with on a weekly basis right now too.

Last edited by Banjo (2014-04-15 03:23:26)

Easter Health Food.

No kale in this one...

Hipster Heart Attack Burger

1/2 lb local pasture raised beef, ground, shaped in to 2 patties
1/3 applewood smoke thick cut bacon made by a friend learning charcuterie.
2 large eggs from the chickens I have in my backyard
2 slices Jalepeño cheddar from local dairy
2 whole wheat buns from local artisanal bakery

Cook the bacon to however you like it.  Pour off most of the fat - leave the pan shiny.  In the pan, cook the burgers to how you like them.  About 1/2 way through, crack the eggs and start them frying too.  About two minutes from done, flip the eggs, and put the cheese on the burger.  When done, stack goes burger - bacon - eggs.  Serve with beer.

There's something in the air tonight that tells me that no matter what you put into it or however you spice it up, a whole can Hormel chili with eggs and cheese is not a good breakfast. At least that's what my gut is telling me.

Emmeran wrote:

Speaking of Chili, time is running out for the last chili before summer strikes:

First, let it be known from the outset that fresh, home prepared ingredients are always preferred and I use a 7 quart cast iron dutch oven. A twelve pack of New Castle is required for this recipe

Thursday evening:

72 oz of tomato sauce
32 oz crushed tomatoes
24 oz (min) New Castle Brown Ale or AB American Ale
4 tbsp. Ancho
2 tbsp. Cayenne
2 tbsp. Black pepper
2 tbsp. Paprika
Salt as desired
1 cp brown molasses sugar

Stir and simmer during the evening, cover and place in oven on lowest setting overnight, drink some ale.

Friday afternoon
Drink some ale
Dice 6 Onions and 3 Green (red/yellow/orange) peppers and all of the garlic you can lay your hands on
Saute half veggies with 2 lbs good ground beef
Add veggies and beef to tomato sauce and simmer
Add beans if you like them very soft
Make a beer run and drink more ale.

Friday evening
Add beans - Kidney, White, Black, Brown, gay, straight, pintos, fucking anything that is a true bean
Add remaining fresh veggies you didn't eat
Taste for spices and double or triple down
You may eat now if you enjoy virgin chili, better to have a steak and wait it out.
Back in the oven
Wonder what happened to all of your ale.

Saturday
Apologize to wife
Serve Chile
In a bowl, with chees and/or onions on top, over macaroni, over rice, over eggs, in a tortilla, make a fucking chili pie.
Make another beer run
Drink more ale
Back in the oven with any chili remnants, remember any remnant ale goes in fridge not oven.

Sunday
Bloody mary breakfast
Reconstitute with tomato sauce, beans and ale, hell add more meat if you like - serve
Finish ale before work week starts
Back in the oven

Monday
If you blew the recipe and have left overs freeze them until they become a rock solid ice cube and throw that rancid shit in your neighbors yard; come up with your own damn recipe or hire some friends.

Fuck you.

XregnaR wrote:

I bet your wife was real happy with the Dutch oven.

Actually it was bought specifically for the task, cast iron is ideal for chili

http://someoneatethis.tumblr.com/

choad wrote:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/what-farm-to-table-got-wrong.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

You know, you could just eat it and be glad that unlike 95% of recorded human history there is enough protein for everyone and nobody is starving to death this year.

Tall Paul wrote:

Bacon.... salty sweet smokey bacon. The bacon sold in Japan sucks. It is mostly wet cured for a day and then boiled. So, I've just invested a few lessons in charcuterie and I'm looking forward to doing a lot more.

Cooking quote of the day: "And for as long as I've got a hole in my butt, Big Boy, those fucking potatoes have been in the deep fat fryer."

You're going the wrong places - the bacon wrapped asparagus I had at the tachinomi near Tamachi-eki changed my life forever....

Tall Paul wrote:

The problem is that health and safety laws require any bacon or ham sold commercially to be precooked, so selling what we made would be cause for prosecution. You can find good quality if you look hard enough, but the prices are far in excess of reasonable. Homemade is by far the most reasonable alternative.

Ahh, I see now.  Any friends up at MCAS Camp Fuji?  I'd always go down there to go shopping, there is serious value in paying someone to make a commissary run for you.

Must learn how



Auto-edited on 2020-08-02 to update URLs

How to eat the Scotched Egg.

(wonderful bit of writing IMHO)