Well, it is an American holiday.... And Jesus fuck I'm totally all set for another 364 days. That was absolute madness. I can't feel my legs.
Pre-made garlic butter shrimp on the wok. They were frozen uncooked, and sure tasted like it. Made some bok choy as well that was much more enjoyable. Blanched them, then shortly stir fried them with garlic, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Lightly crisp and very colorful still. Over white rice.
Guac on The Rock! Dwayne Johnson (apparently) owns part of Teremana Tequila, and with a promotion through one of LQ distributors, if you order a Teremana drink he will buy you guacamole. Scan the QR code and The Rock will venmo you $10. I helped myself to a bottle, brought it home, and am mixing it with Pelligrino Grapefruit soda, which is fucking delicious. I skipped the guac, but I'm QRing the shit out of the code to get The Rock's money! The job sucks but the perks are great. Side note: this isn't even that silly as far as distribution promotions go. The LQ companies will do anything to get you to carry their shit. And with multiple award winning mixology programs, we're among the first they contact. Like I said... perks. Grilling some tenderloin and squash with it. Free samples on the tenderloin. Job. Shit. Booze. Perks. Creamy Indifference.
So Friday night I made tomato salsa. Like "chips and salsa" salsa. Nothing fancy or to be proud about except for the fact that I was about five or six tallboys deep when Mrs. A and I staggered back home, then realized we were the proud owners of 1) one bag of tortilla chips 2) one jar of jalapenos 3) one fresh tomato 4) one fresh onion 5) a spice rack full of spicy stuff 6) a blender How hard could it be? Well, I had to dice the tomatoes and onions because I hadn't remembered item #6, and I didn't cut my fingers off, or even cut them, which was good. So was the salsa, surprisingly. I kinda winged it, then checked a recipe when it didn't taste quite right. Not bad for after-midnight munchies.
Sugar, lime juice, garlic are easily missed, and a little soy and rice wine vinegar are the "secrets" restaurants use. I just flipped through one of Mexican joint's recipe book... like 7 different salsas.
Today I am cooking for a 98 year old so something that's easy to eat with a spoon... risotto probably. Chicken and mushroom. Cooking for a couple of "gourmand" friends next week who have just spent a month in France and will have been eating in Michelin starred restaurants. Also a couple of septuagenarian neighbours with heart and digestion issues who can't eat anything too rich or fatty... No pressure then... I was thinking of cod mornay with smashed new potatoes and samphire. Probably a cheesecake for pudd'n (quite rich and fatty, but they can have a small piece...) - any suggestions for a starter to go with that lot would be very welcome.
I put garlic in my cake batter, so that wasn't a problem, but yep, the sugar and lime juice were what I was missing in the first pass. Funny that soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, two things that are easier to get here than jalapenos in a jar (do they come any other way? I assume not. And the supply chain thingamabob problem has removed jarred and canned jalapenos from my local import market shelves. Finally found some up in Kyoto.)
i just meal prepped for the week: stirfy veggies with turkey meatballs, fruit cup, and rice cup with a can of V8 juice. im too hot and tired to cook dinner now but i started making yasaa chicken as dinner for the week and may just carry the momentum and make zucchini to eat for the evening.
The quantities are tiny. I think maybe a quarter cup for a 22 quart cambro yield. Dialing back the recipe from commercial quantities to personal usage can be a bitch.
Cow and taters. It’s Sunday, which means steak and fries. I’ve had a couple NY strips marinating since last night.
Eh, I'm used to cooking for two. That's tough as most recipes are for at least four (one egg) and hard to adapt, but I've got a decent sense for seasoning without overpowering. Not perfect, but decent.
6 people came in to the break room asking "what smells so good?" (my lunch) 2 were bold enough to ask me "so what is it?" (stir fry, meatballs, and rice) 1 person went as far to ask where i bought it (didnt buy it, i made it..... but i was also eating with chopsticks because i couldnt find the forks) and followed it up with asking how i made it i'm flattered and thrilled by the complements... but tomorrow im eating in the abandoned breakroom so no one bothers me
Made a sausage Panzanella for the first time (out of "save with jamie") it was okay but somewhat underwhelming, not one i'm going to repeat
yep, http://theitalianinterpreter.co.uk/2013/10/03/save-with-jamie-oliver-italian-panzanella-salad/ it was alright but not something i'm going to rush to do again
I'm not exactly sure why, but every few weeks I just really want to eat peasant food. Today I boiled a pot of potatoes and carrots and ate them (with a touch of bourgeois salt and butter). I should make a point to do it more often; two meals' worth probably cost me no more than 50 cents in total.
"Higher-welfare quality sausage?" At least 80% meat? Sit tight... I'm getting a Federal Hill cargo plane loaded up for you. The trick with panzanella is getting the bread right. You want an almost crouton consistency. But overall it's a very overrated dish that you don't see in restaurants much anymore. I'm running through my local garde manger memory and can't think of a joint that does it anymore.
My ex-wife is half Italian and made this dish perfectly. I have never been able to replicate it. And, yeah, it was having a very slightly olive-oily crunch to the bread and the contrasting salty tang of the capers livened by the tomatoes and basil. Certainly not over-rated when she made it, a somewhat unpalatable, soggy mess if I try...
I used to go regularly to visit family in Milan in the North and Puglia in the South; the food is amazing. Simple, but stunning. Being treated to home-cured meats and salamis, the cheeses, an abundance of tomatoes that somehow taste better than anywhere else in the world... Gastro-heaven!
I spent Friday gone with my dad and we ate belly pork glazed with something sweet, boiled sliced carrots and boiled new potatoes tossed in butter.
