This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Mar-22: Ed barbecued tonight. We had some really thin sirloin (faux-filet) steaks, marinated in a recipe I collected from EAT-L not too long ago. This was yummy. Served with a made up pasta-coleslaw thing, using up the green cabbage I still had a bit of. One chocolate-covered madeleine each for after. 

Tuesday/22-Mar-22: Dinner was Tuna Cakes with Lemon Dijon Sauce (web). These were okay, but nothing special. She says to be careful turning them because they're "delicate". Also they had no sticktuitiveness. Instead of freezing two patties for another meal, we'll have them crumbled on a sandwich soon. Served with a bit of trio rice and some carrots tarted up with shaved parmesan, pine nuts, lemon juice, and parsley. A nice, if messy, dinner.

Wednesday/23-Mar-22: Ed got to both Drives today, with a hearing aid checkup in between.

Dinner was Yellow Fin Sole met Peterseliepesto (web; AH/aug10), with cod masquerading as the yellow fin sole. I bought way too much parsley for this, so now have two big bosjes to use up. I forgot that I meant to make some nice potatoes with this, so I made some trio rice at the last minute. For after we had some Mothais Poitevin (a local-ish goat cheese wrapped in a chestnut leaf) that was on sale this week. 

Thursday/24-Mar-22: Dinner was based on a recipe I collected from EAT-L, Rotini and Crab. This sounded good when I collected it, but as I made it, I realized there was no sauce, nothing to hold the pasta, broccoli, and zuke together. So I stirred in a goodly chunk of a bakje of pyramid cheese. This was quite edible, if nothing special.

Friday/25-Mar-22: Dinner was a DMA recipe, Yogurt-Curry Marinated Chicken Thighs (web; GD; EW/mar-apr14). This was good. For a side there was Spanish Garlic Eggplant (web), easy and delicious, and store-bought Moroccan couscous. For after we split a mini bakje of HD ice cream.

Saturday/26-Mar-22: Since we're almost out of bread, I made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (MC). I'm going to move all my bread-makings to a spreadsheet similar to the one I used to keep for the bread machine when we were in Amstelveen. This is easier to maintain than the links I've been using, and easier to extract information from.

Dinner was Punjab Spiced Garbanzo Beans (BestPC, p119). This was ok, nothing to write home about. Served over plain basmati rice.

Sunday/27-Mar-22: We had lunch out today, then went to a concert. Nothing happened in the kitchen. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 PHOTO: no;
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG2: yes #6 BACKLOG3:  no; #7 RECYCLE: 0; #8 NEW: 2

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Apr-18: This was a day for using up leftovers. I defrosted some chipolatas, and we had them with leftover cauliflower salad, hominy, roast potatoes, and sweet potatoes. A nice mix. Finished the St Felicien for afters.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/10-Apr-18: Another day of using up leftovers. Stir-fried rice. Had MW@Home on the counter, but didn't really use it. Sloshed together stuff for a sauce. Cooked some eggs. Onion, garlic, green bell pepper strips, peas. Leftover rice from last Friday. Good it was.

Wednesday/11-Apr-18: Shopping today.

Our meal was a half recipe of Stir-Fried Beef with Five Peppercorns (HomTrav, p126), using the last faux filet I defrosted for Sunday. This was good stuff, easy to make and tasty. I didn't much like the suggested noodles as accompaniment; rice would have been better. As a side, there was Broccoli in Fragrant Wine Sauce (HotWok, p156). This was nice, as usual. For dessert, I finished my chocolate Easter bunny. Ed finished his in one big session many days ago.

Thursday/12-Apr-18: Cath came to eat today before we went off to see a little art exhibit. We started with a mâche and beet salad, as in BEFCC, but with the dressing from Pomiane's beet salad. For a main with had Whitefish en Papillote (BestPC, p60), with lieu noir; brown rice on the side. When we got back we had coffee, tea, and Cath's apple&blackberry crumble.

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/13-Apr-18: Our meal was Spanish Supper: Chicken Morcilla and Sherry (BirdHand, p10). I used only three thighs, since that was in a packet, and but boudin noir made it extra. I tossed in two artichoke hearts left from yesterday. Served this with polenta to soak up the juices. For a starter we had beets and mâche with the rest of Pomiane's dressing. Tastily stuffed we were.

Saturday/14-Apr-18: Our meal was Spinazie Omelet met Zalm en Cottage Cheese (web). More or less. The picture here looks more like a pancake than an omelet, while mine looked more like scrambled eggs. Nevermind, it all tastes very good together. Next time, think I would make two single omelets, fold the thinly sliced spinach (or arugula) into the omelet, then top with cheese (I used pyramid goat cheese), pine nuts, salmon, and chives. Followed by Tomato and Cucumber Salad (BEFCC, p24), which was a nice dish.

Sunday/15-Apr-18: Our meal today was a halfish recipe of Nigel Slater's Aubergine Ragu with Cream and Parmesan Lentils (web). I used a whole eggplant, which was fine for the two us; everthing else was close to half. More shrooms wouldn't hurt. Thought Slater's lentil-cooking time was a bit short, but maybe mine were old? Good and filling, your basic brown meal.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4 #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: BirdHand
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes

Cookbook Countdown: Chaco Chicken Chili

One last night with Pat Dailey's The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever. Tonight we had Chaco Chicken Chili (p75). The headnote suggests it can be make with leftover turkey, and Thanksgiving turkey from the freezer did the job.

Start by soaking a mixture of beans overnight. I used kidney and black beans because that's about all I found that would do. Sauté a chopped onion, two minced garlic cloves, and a couple of jalapeños (shh, mine were red instead of green). Then add a diced red bell pepper (in this case, mine was green), chili powder, ground cumin, and dried oregano. Stir for a minute, then add a can of diced tomatoes, a 12-oz bottle of beer, chopped cooked chicken or turkey, and the drain beans. (The recipe also called for some brown sugar, but I quailed at the idea of adding sugar to a chili.)

Close 'er up, bring to pressure, and cook for 15 minutes at pressure. Longer would have been better, since some of the beans were still a bit crunchy; not inedible mind you, but not the soft texture that that should have been. Taste and season with salt and cayenne. Chopped cilantro can be stirred in at serving time, but there was none at the store last week.

I come from the no-tomato school of chili-making, but this was a pretty darn good in spite of that.

I've learned a lot about cooking with my new pressure cooker in the last month and still have some recipes to try. I never did find a quick dessert, but that may be a fairly vain quest. We've especially enjoyed some of the stew-y things, like this chili and Madhur Jaffrey's recipes, where so much time is saved. We weren't too pleased with the bone-in chicken dishes. Some of them had very nice sauces, but the meat texture and flavor left a bit to be desired. Of all the books I looked at, I think Pat Dailey's The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever. and Victoria Wise's Pressure Cooker Gourmet will be the ones that stay on the shelf.

January starts a new year with Cookbook Countdown. Now let's see what February brings. Why don't you choose a book, or two, or more, from your cookbook shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Malay Curried Pork and Potatoes

More from Pat Dailey's The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever. Tonight there was Malay Curried Pork and Potatoes (p88). I seriously doubt this dish was anywhere close to authentic Malaysian, but it was still tasty.

First you make a finely chop shallots, garlic cloves, ginger, and lemongrass (thank you, staff blender) to make a paste. Fry this in the pressure cooker along with some red curry paste, sugar, ground cardamom, and cinnamon. Turn the heat up, add the pork and brown it. Then add some chicken stock (still working on that Thanksgiving turkey stock) and coconut milk. Close the pressure cooker, bring up to pressure, and cook for twelve minutes.

I served this over rice; this was probably a starch overload.

January starts a new year with Cookbook Countdown. Why don't you choose a book, or two, or more, from your cookbook shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Ravioli with Gorgonzola and Sage Cream

Back to The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever again for an easy dinner, Ravioli with Gorgonzola and Sage Cream (p104).

The recipe asks for fresh cheese- or meat-filled ravioli. This week I found some ravioli filled with bacon, ricotta, and mozzarella (a new product), which seemed to cover both bases. The ravioli is cooked two minutes at pressure with chicken stock (still working on that Thanksgiving turkey stock), a minced garlic clove, and rubbed sage. (I used some chilly sage from the garden, finely minced, rather than stuff from a jar.) Release the pressure, remove the lid, add some cream, and boil uncovered till the liquid has slightly thickened, about two more minutes. Then reduce the heat, add some crumbled Gorgonzola and grated Parmesan and stir for a few minutes till the cheese has melted. Serve with extra Parmesan.

This was very tasty, but I'm not sure the using the pressure cooker added much to the experience. I could have cooked the ravioli in a regular pot and it would have been done in close to the same time. Nevertheless, it was a tasty main course. 

January starts a new year with Cookbook Countdown. Why don't you choose a book, or two, or more, from your cookbook shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Tuna Steaks with Sweet/Sour Onion Relish

We're back to The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever, by Pat Dailey. This was shopping day, so we had fresh fish. For tonight's dinner there was Tuna Steaks with Sweet/Sour Onion Relish (p64).

First you marinate half-inch thick tuna steaks in a mixture of dijon mustard, and orange juice, with pinches of tarragon, salt, and cayenne. While the tuna is soaking up flavor, sauté an onion in half-inch wedges and a small red bell pepper in half-inch strips in a bitter butter. When the onion starts to brown on the edges, stir a slog of balsamic vinegar with a tiny dab of honey. Then add orange juice and white wine. Lay the tuna steaks on top of this mixture, sprinkle with a bit of salt and cayenne, close the pressure cooker, and put it over high heat.

The instructions say to cook at pressure for 2-1/2 minutes for a slight pink center or 3 minutes for full cooked. Our steaks were fully cooked at 2-1/2 minutes, which is a shame, since we both like our tuna, not even pink, but red in the center.

The relish/sauce for the tuna was really tasty, the sweet of the cooked onions, bell peppers, and balsamic vinegar came together very nicely. I don't think I'll subject any more tuna steaks to the pressure cooker treatment, but I'd definitely consider making this sauce, maybe just in a skillet, to go with tuna steaks from the grill.

January starts a new year with Cookbook Countdown. Why don't you choose a book, or two, or more, from your cookbook shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Chicken with Leeks and Mustard Cream Sauce

Tonight's pressure cooker dinner was again from from The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever, Chicken with Leeks and Mustard Cream Sauce (p32). This was similar, but different, to the Garlic Lemon Chicken I made a week ago.

Again, I made a half recipe, with four thighs standing in for half a chicken. I did use all the leeks (I had some needing to be used) and made a whole recipe of sauce.

This recipe starts with browning some diced smoked bacon in the pressure cooker. I used smoked lardons, which are easier to get in France (and have a bit more "chew" since they're thicker). Remove them from the pan when they're done and brown the chicken pieces. Set these aside as they're done. Then soften a couple of chopped shallots in the pan, adding some white wine and dried rosemary after a minute or so. Boil the wine till it's reduced by half. Return the chicken and bacon to the pan, add chicken stock (actually Thanksgiving turkey stock tonight), and scatter one-inch segments from two leeks over the chicken. At this point you might cover the pan and put it all in the oven for half an hour or forty-five minutes. With the pressure cooker, you close the pot, set it to the lower pressure, put it over high heat to bring it to pressure, then cook for ten minutes after it gets to pressure. Release the pressure, and remove the chicken and leek, covering them to keep them warm. Whisk dijon mustard into the sauce (I thought some grainy mustard might be nice instead) and boil until the sauce has reduced by about a third, two to three minutes. Add a good slog of cream and boil until the sauce has thickened, about three more minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve over the chicken.

January starts a new year with Cookbook Countdown. Why don't you choose a book, or two, or more, from your cookbook shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Garlic Lemon Chicken

About a year ago, we retired our old pressure with its warped bottom, and replaced it with a more modern one. For one reason or another I've hardly used this in the last months. I'd already planned to declare January Pressure Cooker Month and cook from my assortment of pressure cooker cookbooks. The lovely folks who run Cookbook Countdown were reading my mind when they suggested participants could cook from one or many cookbooks each month. So here I am, leaping in with my many.

To start off my month of pressure cooking, I chose Garlic Lemon Chicken, a recipe I collected from EAT-L in 2000. (Yes, it's been languishing in a stack for quite a while.) The recipe from The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever, by Pat Dailey (p34). The person who contributed the recipe recommended the book, so I bought myself a copy.

The result was very tasty and easy to assemble. Because there are only two of us and I didn't want to deal with leftovers, I made a half recipe with four largish thighs standing it for half a chicken. These are first browned in the pressure cooker. Then you add some small red potatoes, a lot of minced garlic, some dry white wine and chicken stock, the juice of a lemon, dried oregano, and a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. To be sure I had enough liquid for cooking, I used the full amount of liquid.

From this cookbook, I learned that chicken is best cooked at the lower pressure of your pressure cooker. Our old cooker didn't have that option, but now I can do this. The chicken takes 16 minutes at the lower pressure or 12 minutes a high pressure.

This being a new-fangled rocker-less pressure cooker, I haven't gotten hang of recognizing when it's up to pressure. The instructions say it makes a steady PSCHHHT (that's French) when it's up to pressure. I didn't especially notice a change from no noise to PSCHHHT, so I started timing a bit late. After a bit we both noticed the start of a burning smell, so I released the pressure. The chicken and potatoes were fine, but the sauce was a bit burnt on the bottom of the pan. It still tasted fine, if just a bit smoky. The chicken was perfectly cooked with a nice texture and taste.

I'm looking forward to trying out some more pressure cooker recipes and to getting the hang of hearing the PSCHHHT at proper time.

January starts a new year with Cookbook Countdown. Why don't you choose a book, or two, or more, from your cookbook shelf and join in?