What's Cooking?

[BilletHead]

8 minutes ago, ness said:

Looks like you started without her 😄

Funny—I can’t stand raw green pepper, and can tolerate only a little well-cooked green pepper. But...I love eating the insides out of a good stuffed pepper. And those look good.

        When we are talking raw green bell pepper, not the sweet red, yellow and orange bells I am with you. The cubanelles taste nothing like the green bell, not even close. I have no love for green bells and will sub something else when it calls for them. Yes started without her. She just got home and is eating hers now. Happy wife, happy life . This sauce was some of the best I have ever made. Very sweet, thick and just the right mix of herbs. Enough that we will get some crusty bread , toast it add sauce and cheese and heat well.

  BilletHead

[rps]

Slow cooker turkey sweet corn gumbo.

 

[ness]

33 minutes ago, rps said:

Slow cooker turkey sweet corn gumbo.

 

Ok—I love gumbo...need more information. 

[rps]

1 hour ago, ness said:

Ok—I love gumbo...need more information. 

Last night I seared two turkey thighs until the skin was dark brown. I diced an onion, two stalks of celery, and a carrot and threw them in the slow cooker. I added mushrooms (lots) and 4 large cloves of cracked garlic. I put in a large bundle of Simon and Garfunkel herbs. Lots of cracked pepper and a large pinch of salt. The turkey thighs went on top of the veg and I added enough chicken broth to cover half of the thighs. The crock went in the refrigerator overnight.

This morning around 6:00 I took the crock out of the refrigerator and set the slow cooker on low.

When we got home from school, I removed the thighs carefully. They were fall apart done. I wrapped them in foil and set them aside. I strained the solids out of the jus, making sure I squeezed all the juices from the veg. The jus did not need grease removed, but if it had I would have done so.

I diced another small onion, a small red sweet pepper, and two stalks of celery. I added that to the jus and reheated the juice. As it heated, I added a large squeeze of tomato paste, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and a generous splash of hot sauce. I made a roux and cooked it to pecan color. I added that to the liquid until the sauce thickened but did not become stiff. I had no file, but if I had, I would have added it at this point to season and to help the thickening. I diced the turkey from one thigh while discarding the skin and fat. That meat went into the gumbo. I reserved the other thigh meat for later use. Last I added the sweet corn.

When I tasted, it needed salt, a bit more hot sauce, and something to brighten it. I used a bit of lemon juice for that.

When the corn was hot I ladled to the bowl and served the rice on top.

Is this authentic gumbo? No, of course not. I am not a Cajun grandmother cooking in cast iron over a wood fire on a high spot in the swamp. I did not add any fish, crawfish, alligator, or Andouille. I did not serve dirty rice. But it was quite tasty.

[ness]

Don’t remember where I heard this technique, but thought I’d share it for the good of the order. It makes for a nice poached egg: just put the egg in a colander or strainer for a few seconds which lets the loose white drip away. Then slide it into a ramekin and slide from there into the water to poach. No muss, no fuss.

I know this is a repeat, but one of my favorite breakfasts is the green chili with eggs on corn tortillas with a little cheese. Slightly undercook the eggs, so they’re just right when they come out from under the broiler.

 

[BilletHead]

8 hours ago, ness said:

Don’t remember where I heard this technique, but thought I’d share it for the good of the order. It makes for a nice poached egg: just put the egg in a colander or strainer for a few seconds which lets the loose white drip away. Then slide it into a ramekin and slide from there into the water to poach. No muss, no fuss.

I know this is a repeat, but one of my favorite breakfasts is the green chili with eggs on corn tortillas with a little cheese. Slightly undercook the eggs, so they’re just right when they come out from under the broiler.

 

        Mrs. BilletHead says "Dang"

BilletHead

[BilletHead]

           As promised I cooked Pat A meal like I did with a single squirrel last week. I posted that but being the pig I am ate it all. Today we would supersize the meal. So I had two fresh harvests and then thawed a three pack of previous takes that had been vacuum sealed. With Pat as my sous chief we tackled the easy meal. Seasoned floured the meat and browned all in some goose fat which now is my favorite fat,

  Used the cheap white zinfandel to work up the brown bits in the skillet. As I was doing that Pat picked fresh rosemary from the garden and prepped it, also crushed the juniper berries and added that, This was all brought to a quick boil then the browned meat was put in, This was braised/simmered for three hours. Towards the end Pat cooked and mashed potatoes, Plated up and was happy, 

   BilletHead

[ness]

Ive never had squirrel, but that kinda chow right there is what I love. 

[ness]

We’re starting to get Hatch chiles in the store. They’re a lot like Anaheim chiles, which are available year around. Anyhow, I thought I’d post up a tutorial on how to prepare them. I certainly didn’t invent this. I’m posting to plant a seed in your head so maybe you give these a try if you haven’t had them before. They’re delicious as a base for Chile verde, in salsa, on a burger or in a grilled cheese (got that last idea from BulletHead). 

Pick plump ones - if they’re dry or shriveling up, pass.

I get the best results under the broiler. Don’t slice or puncture them. Get them on a foil-lined sheet pan. Put them about 3 inches under the broiler for 5-8 minutes. Get a nice char, but don’t do it so much that you burn the flesh underneath the skin. Turn them over and do about another 5 minutes. 

Get them into a sealed paper or plastic bag for about 15 minutes to steam. Then, peel off the charred skin with your fingers. Be gentle, and use a knife if needed, but try to keep the flesh in tact. Once you’ve got the skin off, slice off the top, split them open and remove the seeds and membranes. Rinse with water if you need help getting all the seeds out. When you’re done it should look like this:

That’s deliciousness right there!

 

[BilletHead]

         You are right Ness. A couple years ago we got a few pounds at Hyvee in Springfield. I did them on charcoal, the paper sack trick to steam and then stripped off the chared skin. Some of those were used in the grilled cheese. 

  Dang just thinking about it,

  BilletHead