Hey, go git your flu shot if you haven’t already. It is such a collosal waste of time to be severly sick like that. I went down November 28th and didn’t get back to work until Dec. 8th. That includes a week of pneumonia too, so go get your flu shot today!
There is some back tracking to do here. Since I was out so long, you never got to see our Thanksgiving Day meal. It was a real traditional one; I didn’t smoke or deep fry the turkey. Mostly because I wanted gravy, must have gravy. If you have no gravy, you have no meal.
And this meal was no exception. We had gravy! My sister made sausage & mushroom stuffing with a wonderfully tangy tray of macaroni and cheese. It got a little crispy, which turned out fine because we all like the crispy bits. The mashed taters were done fresh right there with two sticks of butter with milk and tater water. Simple. The gravy was made with the drippins, chicken broff and Viking Smoked Salt.
I believe the only thing I did different was cook the turkey upside down. It was flipped over just to brown for about 30 minutes or so. The breast meat was drippy juicy and the skin was crispy tasty. Then we ate it.
Author Archives: Biggles
Got Flu?
MeatHenge is down with the flu. First it was Momma and baby, now it’s Papa and waiting to see if older boy gets it.
Thanksgiving dinner had to move locations, but all turned out stellar. I have that to post along with a few other goodies. So hang tight boys & girls and we’ll get rolling along in a bit. Hugs to all.
Viking Roast Chicken
Out came the cast iron skillet with trivet, then and only then I rubbed the chicken with extra virgin olive oil. Rubbing it with Viking Salt was a trill ride man !!! I got that awesome smell all over my hands! OH MAN IT WAS GREAT !! For hours I sat in the living room smelling my fingers. I didn’t mention anything to my wife because she’s already pretty well creeped out by me taking pictures of food. I figured she didn’t need to find me in the living room playing stink finger with myself. But I digress …
Cook the chicken upside down for an hour, then rotate around so the breast can get her browning. Pull and set aside. Heat up the skillet with some fresh finely diced shallots. Put in a tablespoon of flour/cornstarch (remember corn starch has twice the thickening power of flour) and make a nice paste. Add some liquid and make yer gravy. DON’T ADD ANY SALT, or wait until you taste the gravy first. Remember you rubbed the entire damn chicken with salt. Grind pepper. Steam some vegie you like and make a starch. Any kind of starch will do, you just want something to hold the gravy. Know what I mean? yes.
Photography Consultation Credit
Hey Everyone,
I wanted to take a moment here and thank Dennis for some kick ass advice a week ago or so. You see, I wanted more from my lighting set up at home, in the kitchen, for food. Since I have a small kitchen, it’s tough some times to get the lighting just right. Well, since my old Sunpak 555 handle-mount flash unit didn’t sell on ebay (idiots), Dennis suggested I get an adapter (surely they make one he said) that slides on the flash shoe of my digital rig. All the adapter would have to have is a PC connector on it. Sure enough, Sarber’s Camera in Berkeley had it in stock! I dashed over there, slid it on and POW, I had a flash on my digital camera with a GN of about 160 (that’s really a lot). This is now a manly rig and commands respect where ever I go (home & work usually). All this and more I owe to Dennis, who in one fell swoop was able to cause mere mortals to shake and tremble in my presence. THANKS Dennis!
Spaghetti with red sauce & meat
Nope, nothing special here. This right here is THE standard ol’ Spaghetti. It’s exactly what everyone makes more than a few times a month and for us maybe once a week. Every batch is different from the last but always just as tasty. Yum.
Danish Viking Smoked Salt Gravy or Pan Sauce
Come check out this Danish Viking Smoked Salt Pan Sauce I made last night …
Pork Chop
Juicy inside & Crispy Outside
Pork Chile / Chili Verde
Once in a great while I will follow a recipe. Usually I find myself flipping though maybe a half dozen and seeing what I like and don’t on each one. So far, I’ve done very well this way. For whatever reason this last Sunday foodtv dot com had just what I thought I wanted. Sure it made enough for 20 servings, but I was feeling up to the task and went shopping first thing in the a.m. And true to my way of shopping it took no less than 3 grocery stores to render what I needed, mostly because it was 9:15 Sunday morning. I was on a mission.
Fresh home made bagels
Fresh bagel time !!!
I’m not sure what prevoked her, but my wife made fresh bagels on Saturday. We’d never made them before, maybe it was the conquest of food untried that set this baking frenzy into motion.
As near as I could see she opened up The Joy of Cooking for the recipe. It seemed straight forward enough. Make a dough using … ingredients, let it rise. Then make some little logs, and then make rings from those logs. Let those rise too. Heat up a pot of water and boilem’ for a bit. Then pop them into the oven after wiping a little eggy wash on them.
I liked them a lot.
Pot Roasted Pork & Apples
This entry thoughtfully given to us by Grampa!
Pot-roasted Pork and Apples
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4
Categories : pork
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 3/4 pound pork tenderloins
1 pound medium shallots — peeled
1 parsnip (1/2 pond) — halved lenghtwise and sliced
1/2″ thick
2 cloves garlic — coarsely chopped
4 baking apples (2 pounds) — peeled and quartered
2 cups apple cider (juice)
3 large thyme sprigs
salt and pepper
Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a cast-iron casserole. Add the pork and brown; transfer to a platter.
Heat another tablespoon of the olive oil in the casserole. Add the shallots and the parsnip and cook untill lightly browned, about 8 minutes, add to the platter. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pot. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the apples and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the cider and thyme to the pot and simmer, stirring to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom. Add the pork and vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the meat is barely rosy within, aboui 25 minutes. Remove the pork. Simmer the apples and vegetables over moderately high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Carve the pork and serve with the apples and vegetables.
Source:
“Food & Wine p. 84”
Copyright:
“11/2003”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 92 Calories; 10g Fat (97.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; trace Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat.
Rick’s Quality Meats – Smoked Pork Shoulder Sandwiches
A crazed butcher or crazed grill meister? Either way Rick’s customer’s walked away this drizzly Friday afternoon with a belly full of smoked pork shoulder sammiches. If you have a few moments to make your way into El Cerrito on Fridays you’ll be rewarded with a smoked meat treat.
Need Ideas for Dinner Please!
Does anyone have some nice Wednesday Night dinner ideas? Please leave responses in the COMMENTS section below.
Chili Con Carne
Are you tired of receiving this (see below) when you ask for Chili? Are you thinking that just possibly you could do better? You can. You will. You must.
And if you’ve done any research for chili recipes you know that there are as many variances as there are home remedies for the common cold. Just ask anyone. Some people don’t like beans, some do. Or add tequila or whole tomatoes, or no tomatoes. You just need to find what you like and do that. I found that using coarse ground beef and real chilies help with the final product. All the rest is just for fun.
Slow Roasted Boston Butt Pork Roast
Saturday night pork party with spicy dry rub and oranges.
Boston Butt Pork roast with bone in.
Slow roasted at 300 degrees for six hours. Just what you need.
It was this yummy.
Easy Pleasey Chicken Stew
This is one of our favorites; it’s hearty and brightly delicious. Crazy large hunks of chicken swimming in a rich & thick juicy sauce of love. You can pour it over rice or potatoes or probably even toast and have a teeerific wintery meal.