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On a Cooking Tear

Over the past few years, one food I’ve come to love and enjoy is a good pulled pork sandwich. When I was in Colorado for Christmas, my mom and I went to lunch one day at a local restaurant, Till. (This is my newish favorite restaurant in the Springs.) Anyway, I ordered their pulled pork sandwich. Oh, goodness. Yum. While I was still doing my best impersonation of someone dying from a cold, I returned for dinner with my folks and had their Pork Chili Verde Gnocchi. Delicious! My visits to the restaurant reminded me how much I enjoy pulled pork…

My pops owns a smoker. The kind for meats. I decided that collecting dust on the back porch was not the best use of said smoker, so I started looking into recipes for smoking pork. Sprouts kindly put their pork shoulders on sale, so I grabbed one that weighed in at 8.8 lbs. Yes, it was HUGE. If being single has taught me one thing from a culinary standpoint, it’s to cook/bake a large amount of something and then freeze half/most of it for later consumption. I don’t do this with everything, but if I make a big batch of soup, I will freeze part of it. If I make lasagna, I’ll make two pans and freeze one. If I make chimichangas, I wrap them individually and freeze them prior to frying them so I can pull them out one by one. It’s the same amount of work, but I get to enjoy a variety of foods this way, without wasting them. The other solution is to invite people over and feed them. Duh.

Anywho… I’ve never smoked meat before, but the baby brother did manage a highly successful barbeque joint and I’ve paid attention to his conversations on the subject. I used a dry rub from a renowned barbeque master, Meathead Goldwyn. Yes, Meathead. He kindly posted his recipe for the dry rub he recommends for pork on his website. Because sharing is caring. Meathead’s Memphis Dust is legit. I had to run all over town searching hither and to for ground rosemary, but I finally found it. Once it runs out, I’ll buy a much larger canister, but similarly to my chastisement about following a recipe to the letter the first time you try it, I don’t buy in bulk for ingredients until I know for certain I have a use for them.

I also used Mr. Meathead’s instructions for smoking a pork shoulder for pulled pork. His sense of humor is sprinkled throughout the practical steps and explanations for achieving good pulled pork. I smoked the pork shoulder for approximately 10 hours and it definitely reached the desired internal temperature, but it didn’t fall apart. The flavor was great, but the connective tissue didn’t release. I fed my folks and some neighbors, but was less than satisfied with the end result. I ended up doing the same thing with the smoked pork that I did with the pork chili verde. I threw it in a Crock-Pot with homemade barbeque sauce and slow-cooked it until it gave up. THIS was excellent pulled pork!

Speaking of barbeque sauce, the baby brother was helpful in this arena as well. He gave me the ingredient list–no quantities–for the restaurant’s vinegarry barbeque sauce. I had quite the collections of ingredients on the counter as I put splashes of this, dashes of that, and shakes of this in a bowl, sampling it until I was happy with the blend. I ended up adding ginger to give it a slight kick… ginger is in the Memphis Dust rub, so adding it to the barbeque sauce didn’t fight the pork, but gave the sauce some snap. The brown sugar, also in Memphis Dust, brought out a molassesy sweetness that balanced the vinegar. All in all, the barbeque sauce rocked. Next time I make it, I should probably pay attention to quantities of each ingredient… there is no way I can share the recipe as I have no idea what it is!

I also attempted to recreate the citrusy cole slaw served at Till. Fail. It wasn’t a colossal fail, but it wasn’t a match. I have to go eat some more at the restaurant and then try again. I don’t like mayonnaise-based coleslaws. At. All. And this coleslaw has no mayonnaise. I identified regular cabbage, red cabbage, flatleaf parsley, green onions (eauw!), vinegar, orange juice, chopped peanuts, salt, and pepper… but I think I missed something in there. Perhaps a dash of sugar. And maybe something else. This will require additional reconnaissance. I think I’m up to the challenge. I mean, it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

Sadly, I forgot to take photos of the pork smoking and pulling challenges… another fail. Don’t worry, I’ll make this again.

The same weekend, I also made classic red mole. Rick Bayless is a dude from Oklahoma who is known for his Mexican cuisine. I’ve had the pleasure of dining at Red O twice. Once a few years ago with my friend Gisela and her husband, and then again for my fortieth birthday last year. The first time, I ate his chicken poblano. It was served with a red mole, black beans, a completely unnecessary watercress salad thing, and cotija cheese, I think. It made quite an impression, let me tell you. I’ve always wanted to recreate it. So, my first stop in my effort was classic red mole. Chef Bayless kindly posts all recipes from his show on PBS to his website, so that was the first place I went looking for a mole recipe. My mole was okay, but I didn’t have a blender at the time and the food processor didn’t quite take things down finely enough. Further, finding all three varieties of peppers needed for the recipe proved to be a challenge. I found one variety, dried powder for a second, and had to try to get as close as possible for the third. This, no doubt, affected the overall flavor. I’d like to try this recipe again, but I need to hit a Mexican market the next time I’m in California and get the correct chilis. Again, if I like the final product, I can locate and order the dried peppers in larger quantities. I also got some poblano chilis and rolled them up with chicken breasts I had pounded out; I then tied them off and grilled them. Next time, I’ll try roasting the peppers, then rolling them up with the pounded chicken and tying them off… THEN I’ll grill the whole shebang. Why? Because the chicken cooked through on the grill, but the peppers did not. The underdone peppers weren’t as pleasant. This dish has been added to the list of re-dos. I haven’t given up, I need to perfect my technique.

Now for a brighter spot… I made English muffins. From scratch. Not Thomas’…

One of the best breakfasts in the world is a simple one… fluffy scrambled eggs with toast or English muffins. I mixed the dough the night before and allowed it to prove in the refrigerator overnight. There are two advantages to this… one, it cuts the time in the morning for fresh English muffins. Two, the longer proof allows more flavor to develop in the bread. The following day, I had a muffin with Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boysenberry Preserves (you can take the girl outta southern California, but you can’t take southern Cal outta the girl!). Incredible. But on this morning, I slathered my English muffins with a healthy dollop of salty butter. I know, I know… everyone likes to praise unsalted butter, but I adore salted butter on my bread and muffins. They’re my tastebuds, so who is anyone else to argue. I salted my eggs lightly as I scrambled them in butter… because, butter. And I enjoyed my simple breakfast quite a bit. I would make the English muffins again. The overnight slow retard in the fridge is a must, unless you want to start this at 6:00 a.m., but they are cooked on a griddle, similarly to pancakes. A really, fat, English muffiny pancake. A really TASTY, fat, English muffiny pancake. You should try it. They’re not that hard and nothing to fear.

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Food Glorious Food!

The Great Cooking Adventure of 2017 is coming along quite swimmingly. I’ve enjoyed puttering around in the kitchen, figuring out dishes I’ve never attempted before. Even better, I’ve discovered a few recipes that have found a permanent home in my lexicon of recipes.

My first foray into my list of recipes involved a number of items. I prepped a sourdough starter and diligently worked with it for a week and a half, until it was fermenting but good. I’ve baked one loaf thus far. It was quite tasty with a good crust. However, it wasn’t as sour as I would’ve liked, so I did a wee bit of research. The next loaf I bake, I’m going to prepare the dough in the evening and let it proof in the refrigerator, causing further fermentation and enhanced sour flavor. I’ll let you know how that goes…

Since I wasn’t baking a loaf of bread on day one of this adventure, I opted to try a caramel and cinnamon cake whose recipe I’d run across while perusing the various recipes from a BBC show that has found its way to PBS here in the States, The Great British Bake Off. I accidentally forgot to soak each layer with simple syrup, so the cake was a tad dry. I haven’t baked in Colorado for a few years and it’s going to take a couple of baking attempts to remember that while you might be able to ditch the syrup in more humid climes, the aridity of Colorado makes it absolutely essential. The flavor of the cake was great and the Italian buttercream was enjoyable, but the cake was too dry. My fault. (And I didn’t stress over a perfect frost because my back hurt from too many hours on my feet.)

I also tracked down a recipe worth trying for Pork Chili Verde. Growing up in California, I’m aware of restaurants, even if I’ve not had the opportunity to sample their fare. Border Grill, under the leadership of Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, is one such restaurant. As I was googling here and there, I ran across their recipe for Pork Chili Verde and decided to give it a go. While the taste was fantastic, I had trouble getting the pork to become tender while braising at the length of time indicated in the recipe. As such, I through the whole thing in the refrigerator and decided to make a small adjustment the following day. The pork and green chili mixture went into a Crock-Pot the next day and slow cooked all day long. The results were glorious. The pork fell apart. It was wonderful. I served it with rice and black beans… I actually made it again today and it was better the second time around. I used more cilantro and it rounded out the flavors, completing them. The recipe says to strip the seeds out of the jalapeños, but I’m going to leave some of them in next time. My only complaint is the dish has no heat and I’d like some heat. Always try a recipe as it’s written before you decide to tweak it. For all you know, it might be sheer perfection.

A few days later, I prepared Blueberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta, a recipe from Paul Hollywood (a judge on The Great British Bake Off). This dish is delicious! However, I highly recommend serving it with berries of some sort due to the acidity of the buttermilk. The recipe called for blueberries, but while I like blueberry muffins and blueberry cake, I’m not a huge fan of blueberries on their own. I chose to utilize blackberries and raspberries, in addition to the blueberries. I cooked them down, tenderizing the berries, and then added some cornstarch to thicken the mixture. The combination was fantastic!

Panna cotta looks complicated to the untrained eye, but it is actually very, very easy to make. And it doesn’t take long, either. About fifteen minutes maybe. I had a lot of fun serving it in antique peanut butter glasses (peanut butter was sold in these cups and then you kept the cup after the peanut butter was gone).

I’ve prepared a few other dishes, but I’m exhausted after making another batch of pork chili verde today (this one came out much better than the first) and creme caramel… <sigh> sometimes I really enjoy being me.

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Busy as the Proverbial Bee

Hyello… to quote Mr. Twain, the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

That’s right. I haven’t died. Nor did I give up blogging. I have had a lot on my plate, though.

In January, I had a business trip to train the Business Analyst I hired–praise the Lord! She’s taken about 30 hours of work a week off of my desk. This has been such a colossal relief. The trip not only afforded me the chance to train her, but I was able to go to dinner with a friend that I’ve known since I was born. No, I’m not exaggerating. We both grew up in the Four Fams and our parents knew each other before I was a twinkle in my parents’ eyes. We had a lovely time chitchatting and catching up. On another night, I went to the home of friends and didn’t leave until 12:30ish in the morning. We were all in a Bible study together years ago in California. I texted Pamela the next day and told her that visiting their home is like putting on your favorite pair of pajamas… so comfortable. Yes, I really did tell her this. Needless to say, I was able to mix business with pleasure on that trip and enjoyed it immensely.

When I returned, things kicked into high gear. First, I came down with a cough. No chest congestion, no sinus congestion, just a cough. That would wake me in the middle of the night. No bueno! I had a lot of difficulty sleeping. I also started packing up everything I own that was still in California and spending one day every weekend at my brother’s home. Because in mid-February, after two weeks of being sick, I moved halfway across the country. I spent my last night in California at my brother’s house and teared up something fierce while doing bedtime stories and goodnight snugs. Knowing I would no longer be seeing the nieces and nephew every two weeks or so as I’ve done for the past 3.5 years broke my heart. I drove all 1,100 miles in one day and was good and truly sick when I awoke the next morning. I called Kaiser and confirmed I could get care here in Colorado. After coordinating with Kaiser Colorado, a doctor’s office called to speak with me and then called in a prescription to the pharmacy. In all, I was sick for over thirty days. And that’s no exaggeration. It wasn’t until somewhere around Day 34 that I felt like myself, lost the cough, and had my energy back.

As I was recuperating and unpacking at a snail’s pace, I decided to pull out all of my cookbooks and the various recipes I’ve collected over the years. I sorted through everything and came up with a list of sweet and savory dishes that I’ve been wanting to cook/back. Now that I have the time and resources, I’m doing it. The funny part is that I have to stay disciplined and stick to the list. That’s the only way I’ll be done by Christmas. And I’ve been making headway, but I keep adding to the list, so it’s getting longer, not shorter.

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order:

  • Apple and Cinnamon Kugelhof – Best British Baking Show
  • Apple Pandowdy – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Applesauce Cake – Heirloom Baking
  • Baklava Cheesecake – my creation
  • Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Heirloom Dessert
  • Beef Wellington – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Blueberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta – very good, MUST be served with berry sauce due to buttermilk’s acid; next time, add a splash of Merlot
  • Bolo de Mel
  • Boston Cream Pie – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Bread Pudding – Ruth’s Chris
  • Brown Sugar Pound Cake – Southern Cakes
  • Burnt Sugar Cake – Southern Cakes
  • Buttermilk Cornbread Pudding – Heirloom Dessert
  • Buttermilk Doughnuts – Baking Illustrated
  • Butterscotch Pudding – America’s Test Kitchen (possibly with a whiskey or bourbon reduction on top)
  • Caramel and Cinnamon Cake – very good, needs the sugar syrup or cake is too dry
  • Caramel Cake – Southern Cakes
  • Cheese Soufflé – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Cheesecake – my recipe
  • Chicken Mole Poblano – didn’t kill anyone, didn’t dazzle; need to think it over and then try again
  • Chilaquiles – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Chocolate Caramel Layer Cake – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream – adapt family recipe to a custard-based ice cream
  • Citrus Cole Slaw – inspired by The Till (red cabbage, reg cabbage, flat leaf parsley, chopped peanuts, green onions, lemon juice, orange juice, white vinegar, salt, pepper); came out okay, need to sample it again at the restaurant, regroup, and try again
  • Classic Creme Caramel – Best British Baking Show
  • Classic Red Mole – came out a touch salty without adding salt; make again using Vitamix for a finer purée
  • Cream Cheese Pound Cake – Southern Cakes
  • Creamed Corn – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Croissants – my recipe
    • Plain
    • Ham, Swiss
    • Spinach, Mushroom, Swiss
    • Chocolate
  • Daisy Cake – Best of Baking
  • Dampfnudel – Best British Baking Show
  • Dobos Torte – Best British Baking Show
  • Drunken Apple Pie – my recipe
  • English Muffins – Best British Baking Show
  • Fraisier Cake – Best British Baking Show
  • French Apple Cake – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Gedeckter Apfelkuchen – Classic German Baking
  • Ginger Oatmeal Cookies – Baking Illustrated
  • Honey-Bourbon Cake – Heirloom Dessert
  • Kasekuchen – Classic German Baking
  • Knerken – Classic German Baking
  • Lebkuchen – Classic German Baking
  • Lemon Buttermilk Cake – Culinary Institute of America’s Professional Chef
  • Lemon Madeira Cake – Best British Baking Show
  • Maple Creme Brûlée – Disney Desserts
  • Marble Molasses Pound Cake – Southern Cakes
  • Marlenka (Armenian Honey Cake) – Razmik’s mother-in-law
  • Medovik (Russian Honey Cake) – smittenkitchen.com
  • Molasses Sugar Butter Cookies – Baking Bible
  • Orange Cake – Heirloom Baking
  • Orange Meringue Pie – Best British Baking Show
  • Orange Slices – Best of Baking
  • Pasta Alla Norcina – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Peaches and Cream Cake – Los Angeles Times
  • Pork Chili Verde – outstanding flavor; cook in slow cooker for 6-8 hours to break down the pork
  • Pulled Pork Sandwiches – not tender enough, see Smoked Pork Shoulder; homemade barbeque sauce was great
  • Queso Fundido – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Red Velvet Cake – Southern Cakes
  • Rum Butter Cake – Best of Baking
  • Rum Cake – Culinary Institute of America’s Professional Chef
  • Schichttorte – Best British Baking Show
  • Scones – my recipe
    • Apple Cinnamon
    • Apricot, Cinnamon, Nutmeg
    • Chocolate Chip
    • Cranberry, Orange, Cardemom
    • Gingerbread
    • Ham, Cheddar, Jack
    • Jalapeño, Cheddar
    • Lemon Blueberry
    • Raisin Cinnamon
    • Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella
  • Smoked Pork Shoulder – wasn’t tender enough, may have over trimmed the fat
  • Snickerdoodles – family recipe
  • Sour Cream Spice Cake – Heirloom Baking
  • Sourdough Bread – wasn’t sour enough, try slow retard overnight in fridge
  • Sourdough Starter – done
  • Spaghetti Carbonara – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Spanakopita – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Spanakopita – Best British Baking Show
  • Strawberry Mousse – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Sweet Potato Casserole – Ruth’s Chris
  • Tiramisu – Best British Baking Show
  • Toffee Apple Cake – Best British Baking Show
  • Vanilla Panna Cotta – Heirloom Dessert
  • Zeppoles – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Zucchini Bread – America’s Test Kitchen

Everything in blue has been attempted with varying degrees of success. I’ve been making notes to myself so that when/if the dish is attempted again, it can be improved on. If improvement is needed.

I expect the list will grow as I continue to go through cookbooks I didn’t grab the first time around. Part of the reason is that I was originally going to do baking only, but then decided I wanted to smoke a pork shoulder for pulled pork sandwiches, and then I wanted to try Beef Wellington… it was all downhill from there. So, I’ll have to pull a different set of cookbooks in a few weeks and get more main dishes I’m interested in trying. And you will note, not everything on the list is from another source. There are a few recipes that are mine or my family’s that I want to make. Because. Like my cheesecake. That I haven’t baked in eons. And snickerdoodles. Because snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie! But family and friends in Colorado have volunteered to be the food testers. Which is just fine with me! I love to cook/bake for others and there’s no way I can consume this all.

So there you have it… I did my best imitation of a dying person for a month, but was just sick with a really bad cold (that went to a sinus infection) while moving halfway across the country. But I’ve recovered and decided a year-long culinary adventure is in order. Feel free to make requests if you think there’s something I should be cooking/baking.

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M-I-C… See You Real Soon

K-E-Y… Why? Because we like you!
M-O-U-S-E

And here you thought my December post and pictures would involve the jolly, red man or a tree… nope. It involved the happiest place on earth. Well, there is a tree in one of the photos. There is.

The Mark Twain and Big Thunder Mountain

I have an annual pass and as long as I visit the Magic Kingdom once a month, I’m ahead financially. And since a friend from high school, as well as my cousin, have passes, I have someone to go with.

Early in December, I was supposed to meet Mandy at Disneyland, but she had to cancel the morning of… so I did what any normal, confident person would do. I went anyway. By myself. I’m perfectly comfortable doing stuff all by me onesie.

I schlepped my camera and tripod with me on this trip. I dawdled for part of the afternoon, enjoying the foods in Disney California’s Festival of Holidays (the vanilla rice pudding with apples and crumble and the roasted duck spring roll were the bomb!). Once the sun was down, I made my way toward Pirates of the Caribbean, knowing I’d have a great view of the Mark Twain. I’ve wanted to photograph this for quite some time. I set up the tripod and hooked up my remote shutter. These exposures took a good twenty seconds. Twenty. 2-0.

Mark Twain and Big Thunder MountainAfter getting shots with the lights reflected on the water, I began circling the “lake” to get a different angle of the boat with Big Thunder as a background.

This is my favorite shot.

The exposures, again, took a good twenty seconds. However, with no ducks muddying the waters, the reflections from the boat’s lights are more distinct. You can also see the lamp lights from the dock area. Big Thunder Mountain is illuminated beautifully, a glowing red rock formation. Having grown up down the street (literally) from Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom has always been a place I enjoy. The people can get to be a bit much, but the crowds are worth it.

After I had photographed the Mark Twain to my heart’s content, I began making my way toward Main Street. I was able to photograph Sleeping Beauty’s Castle all lit up. I then turned to Main Street, the only route to the park’s exit, and witnessed a mass of humanity. Everyone was waiting for the Christmas concert to start. I began weaving in and around the masses and was about halfway up Main Street when I realized my side of the street was being halted and used for inbound foot traffic only. I would not be able to exit. Fine. So I did what any normal shutterbugging person would do. I tucked into a doorway and prepared to enjoy the concert and shoot more photographs. I didn’t have the room to set up my tripod, so I reverted to my old-fashioned method for stabilizing my camera. I wedged it against a railing so it would stay still and process photos.

Christmas at the Happiest Place on EarthI was most interested in the Dickensian street lamp surrounded by Christmas lights. When I loaded this photo onto my laptop and saw the bokeh, I was stunned. The blurry area is the result of a long exposure (about ten seconds) as people walked by. Strangely, one woman remained relatively still for a period of time. For this reason, she appears as a ghosted image. Clear, but faint. This was an absolutely serendipitous shot. I always tell people that I have a lot of luck in my photography. I’ll be shooting one thing and wind up with something unexpected in my photo. This was most definitely one of those occasions.

I plan to head back to Disney one more time before they take down Christmas. I had to order a new tripod (I broke the head on mine) and will have it in time for the field trip.

This year has been a really fun photography year for me. I learned a few things about my camera–the settings I used to shoot sunset in Hawaii were the same settings I used for some shots in Nashville and for these shots at Disney. And I’m planning to shoot more night photos, so I’ll need the tripod. Prior to this year, I’ve not used my tripod too often. I’m hoping my next nighttime photo excursion involves the Milky Way in a National Park. I plan to put this tripod through its paces.

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If You’ll Be My Dixie Chicken

I’ll be your Tennessee lamb.
And we can walk together down in Dixieland

In November, one of the VPs and I had to go meet with clients in Nashville. I flew in early in the day, and he wasn’t arriving until 8:30 p.m. I decided to enjoy a day to myself in a fun town… I bought a ticket for a hop-on-hop-off tour so I could take my sweet time, but not have to worry about parking and such. One of the reasons I was most interested in the tour was the opportunity to photograph the state capitol building.

I’ve photographed a handful of capitol buildings and have a personal goal to capture images of all fifty. Prior to this trip, I’d shot the capitols of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Texas, and Virginia. Kind of random because they’re here and there, I know. I plan to get Arizona the next time a business trip sends me to Phoenix. It’s kind of silly that I haven’t done it yet, to be honest. I’ve actually been to more state capitols, I just haven’t shot photos of the capitol buildings. Drat!

ChandeliersOverall, the capitol building in Nashville wasn’t too stimulating. They don’t have a rotunda, my favorite architectural feature in building of this nature. I started looking for something unique to Nashville. And I found something. Chandeliers!

These pictures are slightly trickier than one might think… I had to position myself directly under the fixture so that there were no shadows and no edges. And squaring up with the ceiling design is also very difficult. Your eye makes adjustments the camera doesn’t make. But if you can place yourself well, the photo turns out pretty slick. I liked this shot. It reminds me of spokes on a wheel. And the illumination from the lights and light reflection off of the gold leaf make this image glow.

ChandeliersAs I continued through my tour of the building, I found more chandeliers. Each was different from its predecessor. The variety made for a fun set of photographs.

I squared this photo in post production as the dark background wasn’t interesting. You’re not able to see the ceiling because it was a darkened room and the light form the chandelier overpowered the dark voids. (The ceiling wasn’t all that interesting anyway!) I don’t know if you can tell, but this chandelier had two tiers of lights. The outer circle is the first tier, sitting higher than the second tier formed by the lights on the inner circle.

ChandeliersI shot additional chandeliers, but this photo is the last of the “good” ones. Similarly to the last photo, this chandelier has multiple tiers of lights. However, where as the second photo resembles a chess pawn, this one resembles a trumpet. The outer circle of lights is closest to the ground, with the inner circle above it… the opposite of the prior shot.

You are able to see a bit of the ceiling in this shot because this chandelier lives in the center of the capitol building. As you climb the grand staircase to the second floor, you gain your first glimpse of it. The canned lights along the border of the raised ceiling provided backlighting.

All in all, I had a great time on my tour. I found Hattie B’s, the original hot fried chicken restaurant and got to see most of music row. The only fail is that I didn’t get to eat at Biscuit Love… where the biscuit reins supreme (I did eat at Hattie B’s with the VP and we both LOVED it!). But touring the capitol building and being able to photograph it made the trip a complete success.