The Cookbook

[Mik]

Twas delicious. I only cooked it a little less than four hours but the sauce was sooo silky and delicious. Changes I made were:

Twice the wine
Mushroom stock instead of beef
Half again the garlic. I used whole cloves since it was a long braise
A good amount of umami powder.

The beef shanks were from Wild Fork. I would say it was a richer dish than veal Osso Buco.

[George K]

I made chili today (I make a huge batch, and freeze it in lunch-sized portions).

I thought I had posted this earlier, but apparently I hadn't.

Instant Pot Chili - lb's version (yes, lb)

1 1/2 Pounds Ground Beef
6 Strips of Bacon (good quality), chopped
1 Can (15 ounces) Kidney Beans, drained
1 Can (15 ounces) Pinto beans, drained
1 Can (15 ounces) Black beans, drained
1 Can (15 ounces) Fire Roasted diced tomatoes with juice
1 Can (6 ounce) Tomato paste
1 large Red onion, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Jalapeño, seeded and minced *optional
2 Cups Beef stock
1 Tablespoon Dried oregano
2 Teaspoons ground cumin
2 Teaspoons Kosher salt
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Minced garlic

Turn your instant pot to sauté and add the bacon.

Cook until crisp, stirring often to cook evenly.

Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.

Add the onions and peppers and cook until tender.

Add the meat and cook until browned.

Drain off any excess grease, we just tilt the pot and use a large spoon.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and 3/4 of the bacon and stir to combine.

Turn the instant pot to chili (if you don't have a "chili" settng, use the "manual" setting) and cook for 18-20 minutes*. Allow pressure to release for 10-15 minutes or quick release with the vent.

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I had bought a jalapeño last week, but by today, it had gone bad - moldy, etc. I was crushed. So, I substituted some red pepper flakes - a LOT, probably about 3 tablespoons.

Other things

• double the oregano
• throw in about 2 tablespoons of clinatro
• if it's soupy, thicken up with some cornstarch/water

Also, rather than 1 ½ lb of ground beef, I used 2 lb, and when browning, I tried to keep it in larger "chunks".

I got 9 lunch - sized containers out of this, and it came out pretty darn good.

[George K]

Instant Pot Brussel Sprouts - lb's version

2 lb brussel sprouts
¼ lb bacon
large Vidalia onion - diced
salt
pepper
liquid smoke
honey
20 oz chicken broth

Saute 1/4 lb bacon with a large diced Vidalia onion.

Add in the Brussel Sprouts, salt, pepper, one tsp liquid smoke, two tblsp honey, and around 20 oz chicken broth.

Set instant pot for three minutes then instant release.
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Made it today. Pretty good, but...

Cook bacon first to get it crisp, then add onion.

Don't over cook the brussel sprouts. I let it go for about 5 minutes, and didn't release pressure for another 5. They came out soft.

You cannot taste the honey or liquid smoke at all.

[Mik]

Baked ravioli tonight, requested by MFR. it is absolutely delicious, but it makes a lot. We will be eating it all week.

https://www.parents.com/recipe/baked-ravioli/

[George K]

Oven Roasted Baby Red Potatoes

3 lbs baby red potatoes unpeeled
2 Tbsp extra light olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp sea salt or 3/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic pressed

Cut potatoes into 1" to 1 1/2" pieces. We didn't cut the really tiny taters. Place them in a large pot half full with warm water. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook for 7-9 minutes (they should be almost cooked) Drain, cover to keep warm, and set aside

In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 1/2 tsp dry parsley, 1 tsp sea salt (or 3/4 tsp table salt) and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

Gently Toss potatoes with the seasoning mix until evenly coated (it helps to use a large mixing bowl for tossing).

Transfer potatoes to a large rimmed, non-stick baking pan and place cut side down. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until the sides facing the pan are golden. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with chopped fresh dill if desired and serve.

My notes: Very tasty, and boiling the spuds in water before finishing them is a very nice touch.

But...20 minutes is not enough time to get them crispy and golden. I'd double the time.

[George K]

Tonight's dinner:

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken

8 oz mushrooms
4 cloves garlic
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Parsley for garnish (optional)

Wash and slice the mushrooms. Mince the garlic. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium, then add a tablespoon of cooking oil. Swirl the oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for one minute, or just until the garlic softens. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 5-7 minutes more, or until the mushrooms have wilted. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve all the browned bits off the bottom.

Add the half and half to the skillet and bring it up to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer the liquid, stirring often, for about five minutes. Stir in the Parmesan until it has melted in.

Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Add the chicken back to the skillet, drench with sauce, and heat over low until warmed through. Top with fresh parsley for garnish, if desired.

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I had some large breasts (no, don't go there) which I cut into smaller pieces. I also didn't have fresh 'shrooms, so I used (gasp!) out-of-the-jar 'shrooms.

I also didn't have any half-and-half, so I used ½ cup of heavy cream and ½ cup of milk.

Came out pretty good.

[George K]

By the way...

When "adjusting to taste" be careful. I added a fair amount of salt and pepper before adding the part. I almost over-did it.

[Mik]

Jar mushrooms are handy to have around. That dish needs some dry white wine to deglaze the pan.

[George K]

@mik said in The Cookbook:

Jar mushrooms are handy to have around.

Indeed. I had some week-old "fresh" 'shrooms. They looked a bit slimy, and I thought, "Nope."

That dish needs some dry white wine to deglaze the pan.

Yeah, but I didn't want to open a bottle of (even cheap) wine. So, the broth did the trick.

What surprised me is that Mrs George approved. As I've said, she's not a "saucy" (no, don't go there either) person. She cut the chicken breast up into bite-sized pieces and spooned the sauce over it, as well as over some oven-roasted potatoes I made.

I have the feeling if I introduced her to some Northern Italian food, she'd approve.

[Mik]

I’m making an Italian dish tomorrow - pork braised in milk. Supposed to be amazing but we will see.

[Catseye3]

@mik said in The Cookbook:

I’m making an Italian dish tomorrow - pork braised in milk >

Bon Appetit has a recipe; I won't post it, assuming you have your own already. See below for the cite. Here are some readers' comments:

This recipe is the real deal. Don't deviate from it, and don't try to "fix" the sauce when it breaks. It's supposed to break!
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

OMG, the number of reviewers who destroyed the curds by blending them out!! This is a crime against rustic cooking. The curds are integral, velvety chunks of deliciousness. Please don’t destroy them — enjoy the dish as an Italian grandmother intended, lovely & lumpy.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
I bashed some grains of paradise in with the salt that the roast marinated in, for an extra bit of zip . . . This was FABULOUS. The milk sauce is heaven. Served it with fondant potatoes and balsamic broccoli ( roughly inspired by BA's Broccoli Strascinati recipe with dried fruit and almonds).

(He wrote BA meaning Bon Appetet, but at first I interpreted it to stand for Bucs' coach Bruce Arians; that's how the sports writers refer to him, LOL.)
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Don't be scared to use a little pepper too. Also, much of the flavor comes from the hard sear.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
I put the pork under the broiler while it was resting to get a crispy skin.

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/maiale-al-latte-milk-braised-pork

[George K]

Spuds

I just love potatoes...

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241713/roasted-potatoes-and-onions-easy-and-delicious/

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 onion, halved and each half cut into quarters
½ cup canola oil
½ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or more to taste
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Combine potatoes and onion in a roasting pan; cover with canola oil and olive oil. Add garlic, onion soup mix, rosemary, and black pepper and stir until potatoes and onion are evenly coated. Cover roasting pan with aluminum foil.

Roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to roast until potatoes and onion are browned and edges are crispy, 15 to 30 minutes.

Notes:

More crispy = only covered for 10 minutes. Less crispy = covered (can then be whipped or mashed as well for incredible mashed potatoes). I also love to saute bell peppers on the stove top 10 minutes before serving and present them on the roasted veggies.

Stir with large spoon every 15 minutes if you will be bothered by having a couple pieces seared to the pan.

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I used red potatoes (about one pound) and increased the garlic to 6 cloves, smashed and minced, (because garlic) , and roasted them, uncovered for about 10 minutes longer.

Just wonderful.

[Mik]

Smoked Turkey Rosemary Pasta

1/2 lb smoked turkey, cut in 1/4" cubes
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
EV Olive oil, to taste (1/4 C?)
1/4 cup white wine if you like
zest of 1 orange (don't skip this - important)
ground up rosemary to taste (1 t - 1 T - I tend to about 1 T)
1 - 3 cloves garlic, crushed
12 oz linguini or spaghetti

toast pine nuts
dice smoked turkey
start pasta water & cook as you do rest

heat EVOO in skillet, med ht.
when hot enough, add turkey and 1/2 rosemary, saute
after 5 min or so add white wine
when pasta is almost ready, add rest of rosemary, garlic, orange zest and pine nuts to turkey mix.. add EVOO to taste

mix with hot pasta and maybe 1/3 C pasta water.

Yum.. been making this for 20 30+ years. Good with white wine or red. You can add parmesan if you like but I think it hurts the flavors.

[Optimistic]

@george-k said in The Cookbook:

Spuds

Recommended by Gryphon

Easy Breakfast (or anytime) Potatoes

I found this recipe online. Easy to make and are awesome. I make a large batch at once, put them in the fridge, and eat with any meal. Very flavorful and step #5 sends it over the top. I also use much more pepper because you can never use too much pepper.

Ingredients
2 pounds russet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or foil. Foil is the correct choice.
2. Peel potatoes (or not if you like skins) and dice into 1/2-inch cubes.
3. Place potatoes into a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Sprinkle with seasonings and toss again to coat.
4. Spread potatoes in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-23 minutes.
5. Give the potatoes a quick stir, turn on the broiler and broil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
6. Sprinkle with fresh minced parsley and serve immediately.

Made them tonight. I didn't have any russets on hand, so I used baby reds.

I used the chopper I mentioned earlier. I used 8 small baby red potatoes (with skin on) and added ½ yellow onion (diced) rather than the onion powder.

Mrs. George approves.

If I were to do ti again I'd slice the potatoes into ½" slabs and then dice. I'd cook the potatoes longer before broiling, and then broil longer than the recipe suggests.

Nevertheless, this is another go-to recipe for a side dish:

Making your spuds tonight, George. I've had a bag of little ones on hand for months, and this recipe looked perfect for it. Some variety I picked up from my local farm -- La Ratte.

[George K]

@optimistic Great!

I made them last night.

Pro tip: Put them as high under the broiler as you can for the last step of broiling.

They were good!

[Mik]

It's fish Monday! So Porcini-crusted salmon and some rigatoni with mushroom alfredo. Pinot noir to go with the earthy flavors. Not making the pan sauce. I doubt it would be worth it.

Butter-Seared Porcini-Crusted Salmon

http://userealbutter.com/2015/07/23/butter-seared-porcini-crusted-salmon-recipe/

4 6-oz. fillets of salmon, skin-on and pinbones removed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 oz. dried porcini, ground to a powder (about 1/3 cup of porcini powder)
3 tbsps unsalted butter, (2 tbsps for frying, 1 tbsp for deglazing)
1 cup chardonnay for deglazing

Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece of salmon in the
porcini powder to cover it completely. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan or skillet over
medium high heat. When the butter begins to bubble, place the salmon pieces skin-side up in
the pan. Cook until the bottoms are browned and release easily from the pan (about 4 minutes).
Carefully flip the pieces over and fry for another 3-4 minutes or until the middle of the thickest
part is just undercooked (it will continue cooking after you remove it from the pan). Remove the
salmon to a plate and let rest.
With the pan still over medium-high heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir with a
whisk or spatula to incorporate the fond (the yummy browned bits on the pan) into the butter.
When the butter is fully melted and bubbling, add a cup of chardonnay (it will boil in a flash) and
continue stirring with a whisk or spatula to clean up the fond stuck on the pan. Let the liquid boil
down until the sauce is thickened and brown. Remove from pan. Pour the reduction sauce over
the salmon and serve. Serves 4

[George K]

[Mik]

Colorful dish!

[Mik]

Trying something new tonight - Thomas Keller's Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Making the garlic confit now.

[Mik]

Mushroom Gouda Meatloaf

(Inspired by my BBQ forum friend SirPorkaLot so not an exact recipe, just how I did it)

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/3 lb mushrooms chopped
1/3 lb smoked gouda cheese cubed
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (or any)
2 eggs
2 tsp porcini powder
2 tsp Q-Salt ( a friend makes and markets it. Any seasoned salt will do)
2 tsp Umamai powder
5 cloves of garlic
1 cup trinity (onions, celery and green pepper)

Mix all together, reserving 1 tsp of Q-Salt for the top. 350 until it reaches 160 internally.

Will report on how it turns out. Comfort food for the first really cold night.

Mix